Linger
by Star Dazzled
Summary: AU. Ellie's the epitome of good school girl. A straight A student, she's never had a boyfriend, clearly never been kissed, and she lives under strict rules from her parents. Then she meets Jay, the complete opposite. COMPLETED ON 09.10.07.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: This story is AU (alternate universe) -- Ellie Nash does not go to Degrassi Community School, but everyone else does. Instead, she goes to a private school that her mother put her in. This is my first Degrassi story, so please tell me what you think.  
**Disclaimer**: I'm just a silly fangirl in front of my computer -- I own the names you don't recognize. This includes the school that Ellie goes to -- this school is fictional, and I made it up off the top of my head.

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**Linger  
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**Prologue.  
-**

Ellie Nash ran quickly down the hallway, messenger bag swinging on her shoulder, and saddle shoes causing her footsteps to echo off the walls. Of the whole school uniform that St. Hilary's Private School made their girls wear, the saddle shoes were the _worst_. The knee-length pleated skirt and the knee-high stockings she could deal with, and she even had a sort of a soft spot for the way the charcoal-colored sweater vest looked over top a white blouse. But the shoes, besides being uncomfortable, were just so ugly.

And, as Ellie learned on this damp Thursday afternoon, they weren't the best running shoes.

She burst out of the double doors of the large brick building, just in time to see her bus -- an off-white old-fashioned thing numbered two-oh-one -- pull away from the parking lot. Her arms dropped, chest heaving with her breaths, and she gave her head a toss to shake her red hair out of her face. She normally wore it in a simple ponytail, but she'd woken up late that morning and hadn't been able to do anything but brush it.

"Shit." She mumbled with a sigh, before starting slowly down the stone steps.

"Miss your bus again, Ellie?"

She glanced to her right, where one of her friends, Liz, was unlocking her bike. Ellie smiled, despite her situation -- Liz was one of her closest friends. She neared the blonde, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Of course," she said, "You know I can't go a whole week without missing it just once."

Liz gave her a grin, wheeling her bike out to the sidewalk. "Well, you know I'd let you ride on the handlebars if you lived by me." She said, expression tinted with sympathy.

Ellie nodded. "Yeah I know." She said. Liz was always offering to ride her halfway home -- it was just that both girls lived in opposite directions. Ellie glanced up at the gray sky. "I just hope it doesn't rain until I'm safe and sound inside."

Minutes later, Liz was riding away from her, and Ellie had started on her own way. Her arms were still crossed as she walked, and she hummed to herself quietly. Thankfully, she didn't live _that_ far away from St. Hilary's -- and a little exercise was always good, right?

She was about two blocks away from home when she first saw him. He'd just gotten out of his car in front of what she'd assume was his house -- and how could anyone not notice him, getting out of an _orange_ Honda? He'd climbed out of the driver's seat, lips moving along to some song that he was listening to in his head, and Ellie quickly took him in.

He was tall, with shaggy brown hair that he obviously prided himself in, but didn't take time to style. A tattoo adorned one of his arms -- visible because of the black wife-beater he was wearing. Maybe Ellie looked at him a little longer than she should have, but she blamed it on the fact that her school was an all girls one -- she didn't see good-looking guys very often.

And as fate would have it, of course he looked up in time to see her staring.

Heat rushed to her face, and she stiffened, lowering her gaze to the sidewalk she walked on. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him round the front of his car, but instead of crossing her path to go up to his house, he stopped and leaned against the front of it, arms crossing over his chest. She swallowed, mentally cursing herself -- way to be obvious there, Eleanor.

She didn't know why, but she chanced a look up. She immediately wished she hadn't, as he was watching her -- his smirk was one of smugness and teasing, and his eyes -- blue -- were piercing in a strange way. Still flushing, she looked down again, trying to hurry past him, but it felt like she was walking in sand. Her stomach was full of frenzied butterflies, and she was already thinking of a different route home for when she had to walk again.

_It probably wouldn't be so bad if my school had boys_, she thought.

But Eleanor Nash had grown up with all girls schools. The only boys she ever came close to were cousins or her friends' brothers -- or the many magazine cut-outs of celebrities that hung on her walls. A few years back she'd even wondered if maybe she should just turn lesbian so at least she could have a significant other. Going-on-seventeen-years-old was just too old for her to have never had a boyfriend, in her opinion.

"Nice shoes."

The boy's voice cut into her thoughts, and she hesitated slightly in walking. She was sure her face couldn't turn any redder, and instead of giving him the satisfaction of rolling her eyes, she kept going. Now she hated those damned saddle shoes even more.

And suddenly he was beside her, walking in long strides, movements casual, as opposed to her quick and jerky steps.

"Aren't you gonna say 'thank you'?" He asked her.

"Thank you." Her voice came out choked, and she was filled with the sudden desire to crawl into a hole and never return.

He didn't respond, just kept walking beside her, and she was half-tempted to take off at a dead run. But she was forced to stop all at once as he swung around to stand in front of her, holding his hands up, level with her shoulders, as if trying to block her from going any further. She tried to slow her quickly beating heart -- not fast out of fear or irritation, but of excitement. An excitement she couldn't explain.

She took a deep breath, and raised her dark gaze slowly. He was taller than her, and he was looking down at her, one of his brows quirked. There was something that could only be described as amusement in his light eyes. His smirk turned into a smile -- he had a crocodile's smile -- when she met his gaze.

"Thank you." He said, dropping his hands. He then held one out for her to shake. "I'm Jay, Jay Hogart."

She was somewhat confused as to introduction, but she took his hand lightly -- hesitantly at that. As they were shaking, she was silent however, and he raised his brows at that.

"Got a name, Ginger?" he asked.

For some reason this nickname made Ellie blush, but she forced her tongue to work and form proper sentences. "Ellie." She said. "My name's Ellie Nash."

Still grinning he dropped his hand again, and she shifted uncomfortably as his eyes traveled down her, taking in her outfit.

"So, with an outfit like that -- you're either from a private school or straight outta my dreams," he said. He gave a slight shrug, still looking down at her outfit. "Must be a private school -- the girls in my dreams always have stilettos and shorter skirts."

Ellie took an unintentional step back, trying to stutter out a response. He didn't say anything else, but he didn't seem the least bit surprised by her backing away from him -- he was still smirking. She suddenly felt like he was undressing her with his eyes, and she crossed her arms over her chest awkwardly.

He gave a laugh. "Look, I was only kidding." He said. "Didn't know there was a twelve-year-old trapped in that body of yours."

Her brow furrowed, and she tossed her head to the side again, getting her hair out of her face. "Are you...always this..." She trailed off, looking for the right word, and summoning the courage to speak to him. "Upfront?"

He grinned, nodding shortly. "Pretty much." He said. "Though I don't think I've gotten that word before. I've gotten --" he started counting on his fingers, "-- rude, vulgar, obscene, mean. Rude seems to be a favorite among you girls."

Despite how true those words were for him, Ellie found herself unable to hold back a laugh.

His eyes lit up. "So?" He asked. "St. Hilary's?"

"Lucky guess?" She asked.

"School crest." Was his answer, pointing at her chest.

She looked down at her shirt -- the sweater vests they were made to wear had embroidered crests where a right breast pocket would be. These crests had the school logo, as well as the school name. Ellie flushed again, giving another nervous laugh.

"Oh." She said. "I forgot about that."

He laughed, crossing his arms again, and studying her. "You new here?" He asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you walk this way before."

"So you see everyone that comes this way?" Ellie asked smartly, mentally congratulating herself.

"Oh yeah." He said. "I'm like those creepy old men, I sit at my window all day and people-watch. I even have a notebook to write it all down in."

Ellie laughed once more, and shook her head. "I'm not new." She answered. "I just happened to miss my bus today."

"Lucky me." Jay said quietly, the sudden change in his tone making something twist in Ellie's stomach. "I really do like those shoes."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be an ass." She said. "I know they're ugly as sin."

"Oh, a private school girl that curses." He said, ignoring the point of what she'd said. "I like."

"You really are upfront," Ellie said. "I'd hate to see the side of you that people call vulgar."

He grinned his shark's grin, and moved a little closer to her. "Would you really?" He asked. "Or would you like to see it -- it comes out very easily."

Her face reddened again, and she took another step back. "I have to get home." She said. "My parents..." She wished she hadn't brought them up -- saying it made her sound like she was ten-years-old.

"Would think something happened to you?" Jay finished for her, eyebrows raising again.

She nodded stiffly, and he smirked, but nodded.

"I understand." He said. "Is it bad that I'm kinda hoping you'll miss your bus again one day?"

_Not if I'm wishing it too_, Ellie thought, before she instantly cursed herself. She laughed in response, shaking her head slowly, and she started around him.

"Who knows?" She asked. "Maybe you'll get lucky again."

"See you later, Ginger." He called after her.

Ellie knew it was wrong for her to develop a crush on the kind of guy Jay Hogart seemed to be, but as she walked home, her humming was a little more upbeat, and a smile was pasted onto her face. It didn't even fade once it started raining, and she hadn't made it inside yet.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note**: Big thanks to Ellie CamberonDB and superkool3. :) I hope you continue to like this story.

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**Linger  
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**One.  
-**

Ellie rushed around the house, trying to get her shoes on without stopping, and she quickly went into the bathroom. She lived in a pretty nice-sized house -- her parents weren't rich or anything, they'd just been smart about how they spent their money. If Ellie'd had a sibling, she probably wouldn't have been able to go to St. Hilary's -- her parents wouldn't have had enough to put both kids through private school.

While finishing brushing her teeth, Ellie looked up at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Using the hair-tie she'd grabbed in her room, she put her hair up into a rushed and messy ponytail, and quickly headed back into the hallway. Her mother was downstairs when she got there, getting ready for work.

"Did you get something to eat?" Mrs. Nash asked, checking her watch -- she wasn't checking it for her, as much as she was checking it for Ellie -- who was normally on her way to the bus stop at this time.

"No, but don't worry." Ellie said, grabbing her messenger bag from the floor. "I'll have an apple at school or something."

"Do you need a ride there?" Mrs. Nash asked.

Ellie smiled at the offer. "No thanks, mom." She said. "I've already made you late to work too many times because of that."

Mrs. Nash made a light scoffing noise in her throat, swatting at the air with her hand. "My child comes first, Ellie." She said.

Still smiling, Ellie went to the front door, pulling her bag over her head and shoulder. "Remember, mom," she said on her way out. "I have to stay after today -- the literature club."

"Oh yeah," Mrs. Nash said, sounding slightly surprised. "I'm glad you reminded me. Love you, dear."

"Love you." Ellie called over her shoulder.

The sun was just starting to rise, casting a pink hue over a gray sky. Ellie felt her shoulders slump just slightly, good spirits wavering. She hadn't had time to check the weather, but she hoped it wouldn't rain again. The day before it'd rained all night.

As if suddenly remembering that she had a bus to catch, Ellie quickly started down the porch steps. In seconds, she was running again -- once more, cursing her uncomfortable shoes. Maybe she should start a petition at the school -- she was sure most of the girls would sign it. Panting, she rounded the sharp corner at the end of her block, just in time to see the last girl climbing onto bus two-oh-one -- she'd just barely made it in time.

The bus driver, an old woman who Ellie thought shouldn't have been driving in the first place, smiled at her as she climbed the steps. Ellie returned it, while trying to catch her breath in an inconspicuous way, before she threw herself into the first seat, which was almost always empty.

Ellie leaned her head against the cool window as the bus rattled on -- the bumps causing her to smack her forehead against the glass every now and then. Her mind was on the upcoming meeting of the literature club -- it was just a small group of girls who made a magazine every month, filling it with poetry, short stories, and artwork from the other students. They only had to meet after school once a month -- when they planned out how to put the 'zine together. They were responsible for getting the submitted work to the English teacher on their own time -- Ms. Syme would hold onto the pieces until the after school meeting.

Her mind was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that as the bus was passing a familiar orange Honda, she almost gasped. Jay Hogart had been standing outside the driver's side door, unlocking it, and as the large bus rolled past him, he looked up -- almost as if he'd sensed her there. Even though she knew he couldn't see her because of the tinted windows, color bloomed in Ellie's cheeks, and she sat back against the leather seat, a smile coming to her face.

She'd spent practically all of the night before thinking about Jay -- she'd even wrote about him in the diary she never used. She would've thrown the journal away, if it hadn't been an expensive gift from her father.

A thought suddenly occurred to Ellie. She'd be staying after school today, which meant no bus-ride home, which meant her walking home. Would she see Jay today?

This thought made her smile grow, and she gave a little sigh, turning to watch the scenery pass.

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"Are you okay?"

Ellie looked up from the poem she was reading. Liz was leaning against her desk, thin arms crossed over her chest, and a weird expression on her face.

"What?" Ellie asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're really quiet today." Liz said. She then pointed to Ellie's leg. "And you seem...anxious."

Ellie realized that her leg was bouncing, she was tapping her foot on the marble floor of the English office. She knew it was because of Jay -- the thought that she'd get to see him later on had really been the only thing that kept her sane during the long test she'd had in History. Now she was stuck in a literature club meeting, and her anticipation couldn't be more obvious.

She tried not to blush, and she stopped her leg from jumping. "Oh," she said, "I just...wanna get out of here."

Liz quirked one of her eyebrows, cocking her head slightly. "Do you have to go somewhere tonight, or something?" She asked.

"No." Ellie said, looking back down at the poem a grade nine had submitted. She suddenly smiled -- she couldn't keep it in any longer. "Yesterday, when I was walking home...I met this guy."

Liz didn't respond, but when Ellie glanced up, she found her friend grinning from ear-to-ear. Liz immediately grabbed a chair, and pulled it up to the desk.

"Details." She said. "Is he --" she paused for dramatic effect, "Incredibly gorgeous? Witty and charming?"

"More like sly with a sharp-tongue for vulgar jokes." Ellie said, and even as she said this, she was surprised she found herself attracted to such a guy. "He is cute though."

"Sharp-tongue for vulgar jokes?" Liz repeated. "Definitely not the guy you'll want to bring home to mom and dad."

"Tell me about it." Ellie said, raising her eyebrows.

"So, what?" Liz asked. "Are you going to run into him today on your way home?"

"I'm hoping to." Ellie answered, before blushing. "Would you say I'm desperate?"

"Ell -- in a place like this," Liz gestured to the walls of the English office, as though she were trapped in a dungeon, "I think every girl gets a little desperate."

Ellie grinned, but before she could say anything else, Ms. Syme had come over with another small stack of poems. The two girls grinned at each other, before getting back to work.

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"Bye Ellie."

Ellie waved quickly to Liz, who was wheeling her bike towards the sidewalk, before she continued -- a little too quickly -- on her way. She tried to regulate her pace, tried not to look so excited. If he _was_ outside when she passed, she didn't want him seeing how pathetic she was.

So as she walked, she tried to focus on other things. Like the weather -- the day had brightened considerably, and the sky was no longer gray. Instead, it was a light shade of robin's egg blue -- that'd always been Ellie's favorite crayon when she was little.

And suddenly, the orange Honda came into view, and her heart fluttered. Not only was Jay outside though, a few other guys were -- obviously his friends. As he leaned against his car, arms crossed, one of his friends messed around with a skateboard, and the other was bouncing a basketball like a pro. Ellie was suddenly self-conscious in front of these other boys, but she tried to hide it, as she pretended not to notice them, and continued walking.

"Oh hey, Ginger." Jay said when he saw her, and she immediately reddened, cursing herself.

He straightened, throwing a gesture to his buddies -- holding a finger up and signaling that he'd be back in a minute. Then he walked with her a little way's down the sidewalk, not saying anything at first.

"I was beginning to think it was an empty hope." He said, coming to a stop after a second.

Ellie stopped stiffly, trying to force herself to relax. She attempted to make a cool and casual comment. "Waiting all day for me?"

He smirked. "What can I say?" He asked. "I'm desperate when it comes to pretty girls."

Ellie lowered her gaze, knowing she was the color of a tomato, and she vaguely wondered if he had the same effect on every girl he talked to.

"So did you miss your bus today?" He asked.

"No," she answered, "After school meeting."

This brought a grin so wide to Jay's face that you would've thought it was Christmas morning. "Really?" He asked in an amused tone, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ellie's gaze flickered to the tattoo on his arm -- it moved when his muscles flexed, and the sight gave her stomach more butterflies than there already were.

"Really." She answered.

"Well, you're just a right little good girl, now aren't you?" He asked, and though the words could've been taken as him making fun of her, his tone still held amusement.

She put her hands on her hips, attempting bravery. "And what's wrong with that?" She asked.

"Nothing." He quickly said. "Innocence can be cute on some people -- and I'm going to stop myself from making a comment; you're already as red as a _cherry_." His eyebrows wiggled as he said 'cherry', a hint at the kind of comment he'd been planning to make.

"So that's your vulgar side then?" Ellie asked. "Comments alluding to a girl's...innocence?"

He shrugged. "I'm a pig, so sue me." He said.

She had to laugh at his honesty, and she looked down at the sidewalk, unable to think of anything to say. When she looked up at him, he was staring at her intently. There he went again -- giving her the feeling that he was undressing her with his eyes.

"I like your hair like that." He said. Then he grinned. "Looks like you just had a romp around in bed."

Ellie laughed again -- she guessed she could get used to all the comments he made about sex. It was actually very funny, considering the fact that all the girls she knew would _never_ talk about sex. Its like they all had a phobia regarding the male gender. Dare she say that talking to Jay was refreshing?

"Thanks, I think." She said.

He nodded, still with his intense stare, and then he changed the subject. "So look," he said, "I was wondering -- are you free tonight?"

Ellie started to tell him that she was, she was more than eager to go on a date -- especially with him. But then she remembered her father's rule -- no dates until she was eighteen. She looked down, embarrassed.

"I am..." She said slowly.

"But?" Jay asked, raising his eyebrows.

"_But_, my father...runs my life." She admitted sheepishly. "I'm not allowed to date yet."

When he didn't answer, she looked up at him, and his grin widened. He leaned a little closer to her, lowering his voice as if he was sharing a secret with her.

"What Daddy doesn't know won't hurt him." He said.

Ellie flushed once more -- it was that tone he was using, that husky, almost intimate tone. It made her feel as if everything else in the world no longer existed, it was just her and him. Again she had to wonder if every girl who talked to him felt that way.

"I guess that's true." She said.

He grinned again. "I'm gonna be hanging out at the mall with some friends," he said. "At seven thirty...if you change your mind."

She nodded, not knowing what to say, and his gaze traveled down her, before he started to walk away.

"Will I see you later?" He asked.

She gave him a little smile. "Maybe." She said, though she was having trouble coming up with a good reason to convince her parents to let her go to the mall.

He gave a little laugh. "Don't tease me." He said, now walking backwards towards his car. "I don't like it."

She laughed, and he turned around completely, returning to his friends. Still blushing like mad, and still smiling, Ellie continued on her way home.


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note**: You guys who are reviewing are _awesome_. Thank you so much, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :)

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**Linger**  
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**Two.  
-**

"Ell -- I don't know."

Ellie sighed under her breath, rolling over onto her back. She was lying on her bed, the cordless phone up to her ear, and soft music coming from her stereo. The Scooby Doo clock on her bedside table read that it was a little past six o'clock, though she was still wearing her school uniform -- everything but the shoes and the vest. She'd already asked her mother if she could go to the mall, and Mrs. Nash had said as long as Liz was going. This also meant that Liz's parents had to come pick Ellie up and drop her off afterwards. The hard part was convincing Liz to go, however.

"Liz, this is important." She said quietly. "I mean, it's Friday night, what else are you gonna do?"

There was a small silence. "Well...that doesn't matter." She said. "I don't like the mall, and my parents know this. If I were to suddenly ask them if I could go, they might get suspicious."

"No they won't." Ellie insisted. "Besides, don't you want to see him?"

When Liz spoke again, Ellie could hear the smile in her voice. "I guess I do." She said. "He better be as cute as you say he is."

"You probably won't like him." Ellie said truthfully. "But just go with me, meet him, and if you want to leave we can -- we can turn right around and leave."

"You're lying." Liz said with a small laugh.

"I am not." Ellie said. "_Please_, Liz."

There was a short silence, before the other girl sighed heavily into the phone, causing Ellie to grin and hold it away from her ear slightly. Then Liz said in a very melancholy tone:

"Let me go ask my mom."

Ellie's grin widened, and she fought the urge to pump her fist into the air. She'd only been to the mall a few times -- and she'd been with her mother all those times. Grabbing the stuffed rabbit that she kept on her bed, Ellie held it to her side as she listened for Liz. She could hear whatever her friend was watching on TV, meaning that she'd set the phone down to go and find her mom.

Ellie was just trying to figure out what gameshow was on, when there was a thump and Liz was back.

"I told her she needed to pick you up, and she told me to tell you that you better be ready by seven." She said.

"Thank you." Ellie said, still smiling. "Thank you, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Liz said. "So what are you gonna wear?"

Ellie opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly stopped, her brow furrowing. Her smile wavered, then vanished completely and she put her other hand against her forehead, making a face.

Liz gave a laugh. "You don't know," she said, "Do you?"

Ellie sighed. "Well, it's not a real date." She said. "I really shouldn't care what I wear."

"But you do." Liz stated blankly.

"But I do."

Ten minutes later, Ellie had hung up with Liz, and was pulling clothes out. She was dropping them on her bed -- a pair of her favorite jeans, torn in random places from when she'd taken a razorblade to them for fun, and a plain black tank top. Simple, casual and not too wild -- despite the fact that she was always looking for a time to wear the black and red corset her aunt had gotten her, she didn't think tonight would be the right night.

There was suddenly a soft knock on her bedroom door, and she turned to see her mother poking her head in the door.

"What did Liz's mom say?" Mrs. Nash asked.

"That I better be ready by seven." Ellie said.

Mrs. Nash smiled. "Good." She said. "What time will you be back?"

Ellie shrugged. "I don't know." She admitted. "But I have my key."

"No later than ten." Her mother said, before disappearing down the hallway.

Ellie made a face. _Ten_ o'clock on a _Friday_? Jealousy didn't begin to describe what she felt for the girls her age who were allowed to do almost anything they wanted. They probably stayed out until midnight. And they probably had fun doing it.

She shook it off though, and started to get dressed. She'd have fun anyway, even with such a curfew -- all that really mattered was meeting Jay there, anyway.

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"What's the matter? Got a hot date?"

Ellie turned away from the window in the living room, glancing to her father who sat in his chair, flicking through the newspaper. He was watching her with an amused look.

"Why're you asking?" She asked.

He set his newspaper down in his lap. "My daughter doesn't wear make-up any day." He said jokingly. "Not to mention that's the third time you've looked out the window in a span of twenty minutes."

Ellie grinned sheepishly, walking away from the window and plopping down on the couch. "No hot dates, Dad." She said. "Just excited to go to the mall -- might see some friends, make some new ones, you know?" It wasn't completely a lie. Jay was a friend.

Her father nodded, seemingly pleased with her answer, and went back to his paper. "Need any money?" He asked over the sports section.

Ellie shook her head. "No." She answered. "Mom already gave me some."

Before Mr. Nash could answer, there was a knock at their front door. Ellie tried not to let her excitement show, but she stood up abruptly, causing her father to look at her.

"See you later, Dad." She said casually, before heading into the foyer.

Liz was standing outside, wearing a jean skirt and band tee shirt, and she smiled when Ellie opened the door. Then her eyes lingered over Ellie's hair, which was styled into a messy ponytail.

"Didn't change your hair?" She asked.

Ellie shrugged. "I like it like this." She said, stepping outside. "It's comfortable."

Truth be told, she was wearing her hair like that because Jay had liked it. But she didn't want to admit to that, even to Liz.

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The food-court was the biggest area in the mall, and this is where Liz ended up dragging Ellie when they got there. She'd claimed that it was logically the place where they should start looking, and Ellie vaguely had to wonder if Liz was more excited than herself.

"So," Liz said as they stopped in the food-court. "See him anywhere?"

Ellie took a moment to look around, but there were a lot of people. There'd be no way she could pick him out. "Nope." She answered truthfully.

"Well, I'm thirsty." Liz said. "Let's grab a soda."

The two girls neared one of the shorter lines, and as they stopped, Liz started digging around in her pockets for her money. Ellie sighed lightly, looking around. When she thought about it, she couldn't believe she'd actually come -- she normally didn't like being in places with large crowds of people. She was just wondering if maybe she'd dressed a little _too_ casual, after seeing some of the stuff some other girls were wearing, when that voice cut into her thoughts.

"Ginger, you made it."

She turned around, and there he was -- in all his shining glory. Liz turned quickly as well, her eyes swiftly taking him in. He glanced at her.

"And you brought a friend." He said, smirking.

"Hi, Jay." Ellie said. She then introduced her friends to each other. "Jay -- Liz. Liz -- Jay."

They shook hands, mostly because Liz had seemed intent on doing so, and Ellie glanced around. He seemed to be by himself.

"You alone?" She found herself asking.

"Don't you wish?" He joked, before glancing around. "Nah, here with my buddy."

Ellie followed his gaze to see a guy around their age coming towards them, shorter than Jay but well-built, as was easy to see by the wife-beater he wore. His hair was longish and a light shade of brown. He stopped beside Jay, flashing a glance at both girls with a pair of blue-gray eyes.

"Girls, meet Sean." Jay placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Sean, this is Liz --" he gestured to her, "And Ellie."

"Hi," Liz said, her expression and tone were unreadable, and Ellie was hoping desperately that she wouldn't want to leave.

"Nice to meet you." Ellie said to Sean, before mentally slapping herself for sounding like a dork.

He smiled at her though, saying something of the like, and Jay sighed.

"Well," he said. "Now that we all know each other." He gestured to one of the closest empty tables.

Ellie and Liz sat down beside each other, and Sean started to sit across from Ellie, but Jay grabbed his shoulder again to stop him. Sean looked at him with a quirked brow, and Jay glanced at the girls.

"Milkshakes." He said. "Chocolate okay?"

"I prefer strawberry actually." Ellie commented idly.

"Well you just want to be difficult, now don't you?" He asked playfully.

She rolled her eyes dramatically, and he grinned. But then he glanced at Sean.

"Come with me, man." He said.

Sean started to protest, but Jay was already walking away. Sean threw a look at the girls, rolling his own eyes at Jay, before he followed the other boy. Ellie spun to Liz, who was picking at her nails.

"Well?" She asked. "What do you think?"

"He's got kind of a crooked smile." Liz said. "But I guess he's pretty okay."

"As opposed to the kinds of guys _you_ like." Ellie said dryly, though she was smiling.

Liz smiled as well, but then she looked at the table. "He seems...like trouble." She said softly.

"What?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know." Liz said with a shrug. "He just...seems the type to cause trouble. A hoodlum."

Ellie raised her eyebrows, smiling. "Hoodlum?" She asked. "What are you? Ninety-years-old?"

Liz laughed, lightly smacking Ellie in the shoulder. "You know what I mean though." She said. "I guess I'm just not used to hanging out with people like him."

"It's different from all the tight-wads at our school." Ellie said. "Don't you feel...more free having a friend outside of St. Hilary's?"

Liz shrugged again. "I never really thought about it." She admitted.

They couldn't continue their conversation though, because Jay and Sean had returned. Despite the fact that Jay had made Sean go with him, Jay was somehow managing to carry all four shakes in his arms. He passed them out swiftly, and Ellie noticed that he too had gotten a strawberry one. She also noticed that he quickly took the seat across from her so Sean wouldn't.

Sucking at his straw before he'd even touched the chair, he stretched his legs out underneath the table. His knees brushed against Ellie's and heat slowly started to crawl up her neck at the tingly feeling she was suddenly overcome with. Sean and Liz didn't seem to notice, both of them sipping testily at their shakes as if they hadn't had one before.

But Jay's cocky grin and piercing eyes told Ellie that he knew how awkward she felt.

"So," Liz said conversationally. "You both go to the same school?"

Sean nodded. "Degrassi Community School." He recited boredly.

"I was supposed to go there." Ellie said.

"Why didn't you?" Sean asked.

Ellie shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that Jay was still watching her. "My parents got enough money to send me to a private school, and they thought it was the perfect opportunity." She answered.

Jay finally tore his eyes away from her, looking to Liz. He nodded at her. "What about you, Blondie?" He asked. "Why d'you go to that school?"

"All the girls in my family have gone to St. Hilary's." She answered. "My father seems to think that it's an honor to be in such a 'great facility'." She used her fingers to make quotation marks in the air.

"So is it just girls there?" Sean asked curiously.

"All girls, all the time," said Ellie.

"Any lesbians in your school?" Jay asked bluntly.

Liz choked somewhat on her milkshake, and Jay's grin widened, as the blush that'd been threatening Ellie actually spread out to her cheeks. She was laughing, despite this blush, and Sean was grinning to himself as he continued to drink his shake.

"What?" Jay asked as Liz regained herself. "I'm just wondering.

"There's plenty of lesbians." Ellie said sarcastically, grinning slightly, and looking at the table. "They're _always_ making out in the bathrooms and janitor closets."

"I knew it." Jay said to Sean, as if they'd been having an argument about it.

Liz laughed before Ellie, surprising the redhead, but that was a good sign. Ellie relaxed a little more now, knowing that Liz didn't really mind hanging out with Jay and Sean. She was actually quite glad she'd decided to come that night, even if she had a curfew to keep.


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's Note**: Once again, thank you guys. Your reviews mean so much to me. :) I meant to update this a lot sooner, so maybe the length of this makes up for the wait.

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**Linger**  
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**Three.  
-**

The quartet spent most of the night in the food court, just wasting time and talking. It was really just Sean and Liz coming up with random conversation topics, while Jay gave Ellie that stare that made her feel like he could read her mind. His smug smirk wasn't helping any, though it _did_ give Ellie a long time to admire it. She'd grown used to his legs touching hers, more so, his legs all but hugging one of hers -- one of his knees was between hers. At first she'd been sitting with her back as straight as wood, hands nervously playing with the bottom of her shirt, and cheeks rosy-tinted. But she found it easier to relax as time wore on, and soon she didn't even care about his penetrating gaze.

"So," Sean was saying, "That new zombie movie looks pretty good -- there's a showing in about ten minutes."

He'd raised his eyebrows at the girls, and Ellie quickly looked down at her watch. It would be nine fifteen in ten minutes, and as most movies lasted at least two hours, there was no way she could see one and be home by ten. She glanced up -- Liz was watching her, waiting for the ruling -- and she sighed.

"I can't." She said. "My parents --"

"Are really protective of their good little girl." Jay finished for her, grinning. "And they've given you a curfew, eh?"

She nodded, shrugging her shoulders. "Ten o'clock." She said. "Any later and it's my head on a stick in the front yard."

Sean and Liz laughed, while amusement flickered in Jay's eyes, and he glanced at his own watch. "Didn't realize it was already gettin' to be so late." He mused idly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. "How 'bout we go for a ride then?" He asked.

"A ride?" Sean asked, skeptically. "And do what? Admire the houses that we drive past?"

"A ride sounds good to me, actually." Ellie said with a shrug. "Anything to get away from the obnoxious thirteen-year-olds running around here."

Sean paused thoughtfully before nodding in agreement, and Ellie glanced at Liz with a questioning expression. The blonde looked at her, then at Jay and Sean, both of whom were watching her as well.

"Oh, it's my decision?" Liz asked, blankly, if not a little confused. "Well -- sure, a ride's cool."

Ellie smiled brightly, and the four of them stood up. Ellie went to grab her empty cup, but Jay's hand suddenly closed around the bend of her elbow, and with a little shake of his head, he started pulling her away from the table. As they all sidled their way through and around people, Ellie found herself grinning.

"Boy, you really are a bad ass, you know." She said playfully. "Leaving your trash at a table? Oh my."

"I'm having trouble deciding which Ellie I like more," Jay said, "The innocent blushing one, or the sly jokester."

Ellie's stomach did a weird twist at the way her name sounded coming from his lips; she'd actually been growing rather fond of the name Ginger. She lowered her gaze slightly, realizing he was still holding her arm -- his grip wasn't tight, and he wasn't pulling her or anything, just holding onto her as if afraid of losing her. She smiled again, before looking ahead of her. She was feeling much better than she had in a while.

---------------------------------------------

"Alright, first stop, Blondie."

Ellie glanced out the passenger window, surprised that they'd actually arrived at Liz's house that fast. It was working on nine forty-five now, and they'd spent the rest of the night driving around randomly, listening to music and just hanging out. Ellie would've liked this more than hanging out at the mall, had it been light enough to see Jay. It was dark outside, therefore dark in his car. Though there _was_ something nice about the streetlights casting a glow over his features.

She was seated in the front with Jay, while Liz and Sean had occupied the back. Since Liz was directly behind Ellie, Ellie quickly climbed out of the car to move the seat forward. She never was a fan of these two-doored Honda Civics, she had to admit. Liz climbed out, patting at her hair, and breathing deeply -- the backseat was a little crampy, and Ellie would've been doing the same had she been forced to sit there.

"Thanks again, Liz." Ellie said softly. "For coming and all."

Liz smiled, swatting the air. "No problem." She said, then in a whisper she added. "It was nice to meet Sean."

Ellie smirked, cocking her head some. "You and him...?" She asked.

Liz quickly shook her head, magenta blooming in her cheeks. "Oh no, no." She said. "I just liked talking to him -- he has a girlfriend anyway. The way he talks about her is really sweet too." She started to walk away, but suddenly grinned again. "And he happened to mention an older brother who rides motorcycles."

Ellie playfully smacked her friend's shoulder, before bending to push the seat back again. "I'll see you later, Liz." She said. "Call me tomorrow."

Liz waved at her, before turning and all but bouncing up the sidewalk towards her house. Ellie quickly slid back into the passenger seat and shut the door.

"You girls and your long good-byes." Jay said, shaking his head in mock disapproval. "Sheesh."

Ellie only grinned, buckling her seat belt as he started to drive off again. Sean had fallen silent now that Liz wasn't there to listen to him, and Jay glanced at him in the rear-view mirror.

"You alright, man?" He asked.

Ellie glanced back to see Sean nod. "Yeah," he answered. "Just tired is all, didn't get any sleep last night."

"Why not?" Jay asked, curiously.

"Leak in the roof." Sean said casually. "Spent most of the night trying to fix it myself."

"Did you?" Ellie asked, still turned in her seat. "Manage to fix it, I mean?"

Sean gave a sheepish smile. "I may be good with cars," he said, "But leaky roofs? Not so much."

Ellie gave him a small smile, before turning back around. From what she'd learned about Sean that night, he lived on his own -- his parents were in Wasaga Beach, wherever that was, as Ellie had never left the town she was born in, and his older brother had recently left for a job opportunity. He'd mentioned some student welfare thing, and Ellie had spent a little while trying to imagine living on her own. It was hard.

Jay reached over to turn the radio up slightly, and instead of returning his hand to the steering wheel, it fell lightly onto one of Ellie's knees. She felt herself stiffen slightly, though she wished she hadn't -- the twitching of Jay's lips meant that he'd felt it too -- and she tried to ignore it, by looking out the passenger window and watching the scenery fly past. It was hard to not notice, though, the warm electricity that spread from his fingertips like tiny spiderwebs, crawling up her leg and seeming to ride on her very nerves.

She quickly rolled her window down some, feeling suddenly as if she were too hot, and she sighed as the cool night air danced upon her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Jay was grinning again, but his lips had started moving a little as he mouthed the words to the song that was playing. She pushed all thoughts of his hand on her leg out of her brain by trying to focus on the song.

She'd never heard it before, but the singer's voice was familiar -- sometimes singers just had those voices that were distinguishable. This one had a raw, throaty sound that many people may have considered bad -- but it went well the music. The lyrics were a little hard to understand, and Jay's hand was suddenly moving.

She looked down at her lap, where Jay's hand had moved upwards from her knee, onto her thigh. He stopped it there though, and just let it sit. He wasn't holding her leg, squeezing it or anything -- she may have fainted if he'd been doing any of that, because just the feeling of his hand on her was enough to make her head spin. She knew it was silly, reacting to him like this, but she just couldn't help it.

"Next stop, Sean Cameron." Jay said suddenly, his voice cutting into her thoughts and startling her just slightly.

Sean took a breath, stirring in the back seat, and it was obvious that he'd been falling asleep. Jay's hand slipped from Ellie's thigh, and he opened his door to climb out. She watched with faint interest as Sean roughly pushed the seat forward, trying not to get tangled in the seat belt as he struggled, half-asleep, to climb out.

"See ya, Ellie." He mumbled.

"Bye." She said, genuinely hoping she _would_ get to see him again. "It was nice meeting you."

He waved at her, before disappearing from view completely, and through the windshield, she watched him walk towards his house, the headlights of Jay's car like a search light on him. A second or two later, Jay threw the seat back into its regular position, and hopped in. He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Just you and me, Ginger." He said, before pulling away from the curb.

Ellie glanced down at her watch -- it was nine fifty-two A part of her wanted to get home right now -- she needed to get out of this car and away from the boy who made her feel dizzy and light-headed. But the other part of her was wishing she could tell him she'd lied and that her curfew was actually eleven, so then she could get some alone time with him. She had to grin at herself, shaking her head slightly -- she was so dumb.

"What're you gettin' at?" Jay asked, side-glancing her. "Grinnin' like the Cheshire Cat and shit."

Ellie shrugged. "I had a good time," she said. "Thanks for inviting me."

"You sound so formal." He said. "But no problem -- glad you could make it. Even though I was kinda hoping you'd show up alone."

She rolled her eyes, glancing at him. "Don't feel like sharing me?" She asked, then grinned again. "Want me all to yourself?"

"Oh yeah." He said. "Wanna know what I would do to you if I had you all to myself?"

Ellie flushed, stumbling over her words, and Jay laughed.

"Look at you," he said, "You can be all playful towards me, but when I turn it around you turn into a bumbling little girl."

She sighed. "I'm not used to it, is all." She said. "Give me time."

"I'll give you all the time you need." Jay said, "And whatever else I feel like."

She smiled. "Sometimes it's lame, you know." She said. "Your little innuendos."

"Oh, ouch." He said. "Well excuse me."

He suddenly stopped the car, and she realized that he'd pulled to a curb just around the corner of her place. She glanced questioningly at him, and he shrugged.

"Didn't think dear ol' Mommy and Daddy would like to see you getting out of my car." He explained.

She nodded. "Wow, you're smarter than you look."

He turned to her, grinning like an alligator. "You insist on messing with me don't you?" He asked.

She smirked, shrugging innocently. "Don't know what you mean." She said, pulling her seat belt off, and glancing at her watch. Nine fifty-six, four minutes to go.

She swallowed somewhat awkwardly, glancing at him, and noticed he was studying her. She couldn't read the expression on his face, and the dim lighting didn't help any.

"Thanks." She said. "Again, for inviting me."

He nodded, but didn't say anything. A thought suddenly crossed her mind that made her breath hitch slightly -- was he going to kiss her? Would she let him kiss her? It _was_ like a rule wasn't it -- a kiss on the first date? It's what went on in all the movies and books, wasn't it?

He started to lean forward, as if reading her mind, and she froze. The only kisses she'd ever received in her life where the grossly wet ones from Grandma Marian, who always wore dark red lipstick that took days to wash off of an unsuspecting child's cheek. She held her breath, eyes wide, but as his lips hovered just inches over hers, warmth radiating from them, he took a deep breath, and pulled away.

"Sorry, almost forgot." He said.

"What?" She asked blankly.

He smirked. "I almost thought that you wouldn't mind me kissing you." He was talking in an almost mocking-way, but his eyes held good humor and amusement. "Forgot that a princess like you isn't used to dates."

She flushed, part embarrassed, part annoyed, and even part upset that he hadn't kissed her.

"You can kiss me." She said, perhaps a little too eagerly. "I mean...if you want to."

He looked at her again, and she dropped her gaze. "Nah." He said, and it was obvious he was playing with her.

Her shoulders slumped slightly. "Why not?" She demanded in a small tone.

"A kiss from me would corrupt your perfect little mind." He said.

"You're being dumb." She said. "Just kiss me." She realized how pathetic she may've sounded, but at that moment she didn't care. All she cared about was his lips on hers, him finishing what he'd set out to do. "Please."

He smiled. "Alright, alright." He said. "First, close them doe eyes of yours -- you can't be staring at me like you just got a fork shoved up your ass when I'm kissing you."

She tried to stifle her laughter, closing her eyes as told, and trying to contain her excitement. She took a few deep breaths, and could hear him leaning towards her again. When he spoke again, his warm breath tickled her face, and she realized he was only inches away from her once more.

"You _could_ try and relax too, you know." He said, jokingly. "It might help."

She sighed, and would've rolled her eyes had they been open, and he chuckled, as if knowing what was going through her mind.

"Okay." He said.

One of his hands found its way to her face, cupping one of her cheeks in a firm grasp, and her breath caught in anticipation. He held her in place, and touched his lips to hers -- they were slightly soft, more rough and masculine than anything, but the feeling excited her. She leaned slightly into him, waiting for things to go farther, waiting for him to deepen the kiss -- but he suddenly pulled away.

"There ya go." He said.

When she opened her eyes, he was grinning widely at her, light eyes dancing with amusement, and she realized she'd been cheated.

"That's it?" She asked. "I only get a peck?"

"You're gonna be late." He said in a sing-song voice. "Better hurry up."

She looked for the hundredth time at her watch to see it was nine fifty-nine. She gave an irritable sigh, and pushed open the door, before looking back at him. He was still grinning, seemingly proud of his little prank, and she pointed at him.

"You're not just vulgar." She said. "You're plain evil."

He shrugged as if to say, _What can you do?_ and he said. "There's a time and place for everything, girl."

She sighed again, and climbed out of the car. When she'd shut the door, she took off at a run towards the corner, swinging around the streetlamp, and pumping her arms at her sides for speed. She reached her yard, slowing slightly, and as she stepped up onto the stoop, she bent slightly, putting her hands on her knees. She panted, trying not to let it show that she'd been running, and she unlocked the door.

"One minute late," Mr. Nash rang out as she entered the foyer. He was sitting in the living room, visible through the doorway, and he was smiling at his daughter. "Not bad for your first night with a curfew."

She gave him a smile, shutting and locking the door again, and entered the room. Mrs. Nash appeared in the kitchen doorway, wearing rubber gloves -- obviously she'd been in the middle of cleaning.

"Considering traffic and trying to get out of a mall's parking lot." She said, nodding in agreement with her husband. Her brow furrowed when she looked at Ellie though. "Oh, honey you're flushed. Are you alright?"

Ellie quickly nodded, putting on a smile. "Yeah." She said. "Liz's mom's car was just really hot -- it's really small, so we were crammed together."

Mrs. Nash nodded. "Well did you have fun?" She asked. And at Ellie's nod, she smiled. "That's all that matters, then."

Ellie glanced at her father, before back at her mother. "I'm gonna go to bed then." She said. "Good night guys."

She quickly climbed the stairs, and when she reached her room, she wasted no time in shutting the door. She leaned back against it, a smile immediately coming to her face. She couldn't believe Jay -- she never would've thought he'd be such a tease. With a sigh, she walked to her window and opened it, hoping to catch an Autumn breeze.

Then she threw herself on her bed, her mind replaying the whole night like a movie. When it got to the end however, she imagined Jay giving her a _real_ kiss, before she succumbed to sleep -- leaving her shoes on, and her lamp burning.


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the minor delay (again), I haven't really been feeling too good lately. But I'm back with the next part, and I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it so far. :D

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**Linger**  
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**Four.  
-**

It was the next day when Ellie realized she had yet to give Jay her phone number. It was around three in the afternoon, and she was sitting at her desk -- she was supposed to be reading a book for English, but had become preoccupied with calling Liz and telling her what'd happened.

"You really like him, huh?" The blonde had asked.

Ellie had rolled her eyes, even though her friend couldn't see her. "No, Liz, I can't stand him." She'd answered sarcastically.

After the two shared a laugh, Liz had then said, "It sounds like he likes you a lot, too."

Girls who had never had boyfriends weren't really the right people to tell you whether or not it sounded like a guy really liked you, but her saying his has just made Ellie happier than she already was. When she'd hung up with Liz, the thought of '_I wonder what Jay sounds like on the phone_', had crossed her mind. She wanted to slap herself for not remembering to give her number to him -- wasn't that supposed to be the first thing girls did?

She even contemplated walking to his house just to give it to him -- but besides being desperate, it would also be pathetic.

As if on cue, her mother passed the open door, and Ellie quickly called out to her. Mrs. Nash returned, stopping in the doorway and raising her eyebrows in question.

"Yes, dear?"

Ellie tried not to appear too eager. "I was just wondering," she said, "Are we listed in the phone book?"

Mrs. Nash paused thoughtfully "I think so, yes," she answered, "Why?"

"Just wondering." Ellie repeated. She quickly changed the subject. "What's for dinner tonight?"

Her mother didn't notice the diversion, and smiled. "I was thinking maybe spaghetti."

"Great." Ellie said, giving a small grin.

When Mrs. Nash disappeared again, Ellie turned back to her desk, and sighed. She slid down in her chair some, bored, and stared hard at the phone. It was as if she were trying to send a telepathic message to Jay, telling him to look her up.

Of course, this was a silly idea, and she immediately felt childish. With another sigh, she grabbed her English book and opened it. Maybe it would help distract her.

---------------------------------------------

By Monday morning, she felt like she was having a Jay withdrawal. Needless to say, he hadn't called, and she was stuck between wondering if her mother was wrong and The Nashs weren't listed, or if he just didn't want to talk to her. She'd spent the whole weekend reading her book -- she'd almost reached the end, actually, wouldn't her teacher be proud?

She ended up leaving the house in record timing -- there could be no way she could miss her bus today. Unless she deliberately avoided it.

She passed the bus stop, where only one girl was waiting -- a bully sort of girl, no one really liked her, and Ellie had never talked to her. The other girl didn't even seem to notice Ellie as she walked by.

The temperature had seemed to drop over night, and there was a definite chill in the air as she walked to Jay's house. Bits of silver frost clung to the grass, melting away as the sun started to rise into a gray sky -- ah the early days of October. It was her favorite month, despite the bad weather they could sometimes have. She hugged herself, making a mental note to dig her jacket out of the closet, and in no time she was standing before Jay's car. It was parked at the curb, as always, like a faithful pet of sorts, and Jay was nowhere to be seen.

She dropped her bag on the ground and leaned against the front of the Honda, looking around. Now that she was there, she felt a little better about not hearing from him over the weekend, and she relaxed a little bit. She concentrated on the twittering of birds in trees, watched as other kids left their houses for school, and wished desperately that she had brought her watch.

The sound of the front door opening made her look up -- Jay was stepping outside, pulling a black coat on, his hat already backwards on his head. She thought, with faint amusement, that he probably wore that hat everywhere, even the shower. But her amusement was quickly replaced with embarrassment as the thought of Jay showering made her blush.

He didn't notice her right away, walking towards his car, and staring groggily at the sidewalk. He was digging around in his jacket pocket, and was about five feet away from her when he realized she was there. When he looked up, his infamous smirk came to his face.

"Hey," he said brightly, "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Missed my bus." She lied, "Figured I'd stop by on my way to school."

As fate would have it, her bus suddenly rumbled past them. She lowered her gaze sheepishly, cheeks reddening, and his grin widened. He crossed his arms over his chest, and giving her his all-knowing look -- the one that made her feel like he could see right through her.

"Drive like maniacs, don't they?" He asked, casually, leaning forward to unlock the passenger door.

He rounded the front of his car without another word, and unlocked his door. As he pulled open the door, he raised his eyebrows at her over the roof of his car. Quickly taking the hint, she pulled open the passenger door and slid into the car, pulling her messenger bag onto her lap. They were both silent as he started the car, and she worked on trying to untangle the seat belt. She was clicking it into place when he pulled away from the curb, only he wasn't heading in the direction they should've.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention," he said, "I'm not going to school today."

"So that means I'm not either?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nah," he said, "You're coming with me."

Ellie laughed a little, but nervousness had just sprung up in her gut. What if her parents found out? What would her teachers think when she wasn't in class today? Where were they going?

"Don't worry, Ginger." He said. "It'll be our little secret -- and I'm not going to take you to a deserted parking lot or anything." He side-glanced her. "Though, I daresay you wouldn't mind that."

She flushed. "Dream on." She said, though she couldn't help but smile.

He grinned. "Don't mind if I do."

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They drove around for the early part of the morning, just talking -- it was comfortable to just sit beside him, Ellie realized, even if they weren't doing anything. She'd moved her bag to the backseat, and was lounging in hers, watching through the passenger window as the sun rose higher and higher. It moved a lot faster than people seemed to think -- she'd never realized it.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice cut through the silence, and she glanced over at him.

"Nothing." She said.

"Nothing?" He repeated. "How can you think about nothing?"

"Okay, I was thinking about the sun." She answered, grinning. "Don't ask why."

"The sun." Jay echoed again. "Oo-kay. Well...the sun's cool. It's...big."

She laughed. "And shiny." She said.

He shook his head, though he was smirking again. "I have to pick up a few things," He said, "So I'm stopping at this store -- just so you know."

She nodded, but was silent until they pulled into the almost empty parking lot of a department store. It was one of those places that had _everything_. You could walk in there and buy a TV dinner, a fancy new dress-shirt for work, a BB gun, and a wedding ring -- all at the same time. But from what Ellie had heard about that place, it was actually a little expensive.

She kept her comments to herself however, and followed his lead when he got out of the car. He didn't say anything as they walked into the store, and she kept quick on his heels, looking around.

"Need help with anything today?" One of the workers stationed to greet people asked.

"No thanks." Jay said dismissively, grabbing Ellie's arm lightly, and pulling her along so the worker wouldn't try to talk to her.

"She was just doing her job." Ellie said, trotting to keep up with his fast pace.

He grinned. "So?" He asked. "And I was just telling her 'no thanks'."

She rolled her eyes, but as he started walking away, she found herself drawn to the jewelry counter. Not the diamonds and rubies or anything -- she found a small rack of retro-looking bracelets. Big and clunky with bright-colored beads -- she took a liking almost immediately to one, it had large pink and blue plastic beads, all of them the same shape and size. She grabbed it, tried it on, and checked the price.

"Damn." She said, quickly pulling it off again. "Talk about over-priced."

"So take it." Jay's voice in her ear made her jump and spin.

He'd returned quickly, and was grinning at her.

"What?" She asked, blinking stupidly.

He sighed. "Ah, Ginger -- nevermind." He said. Giving her a little grin again, he leaned forward and gave her lips a quick peck. Then he straightened, and as she stood there almost in shock from his display of affection, he grabbed her arm again. "Come on."

Her brow furrowed as they walked towards the door. "But you didn't get anything." She said.

The worker at the door noticed this too. "Didn't find what you were looking for?" She asked.

"Nah." Jay said, making it sound like it was the worker's fault. "Talk about the most unorganized store in town."

As she stared after him with a look of confusion -- still trying to figure out if it was a direct insult or not -- Jay pulled Ellie towards the parking lot. He didn't let go of her arm until they'd reached the Honda, and when he got in, he was quicker to start the ignition than ever before. She watched him with a furrowed brow as he pulled away from the store, and he glanced at her.

"Seat belt." He said.

"You aren't wearing yours." She mumbled, but grabbed hers anyway -- she'd just forgotten it.

"That's different." He said. But suddenly he grinned, reaching into his pocket. "Now, which one of these over-priced bracelets was the one you wanted?"

She looked over in surprise to find him holding three of the clunky bracelets she'd been looking at. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd stolen them, but despite that, she found herself reaching out to take the pink and blue one. She realized he must've grabbed them when he'd given her that little kiss.

"I can't believe you did that." She said, as she grabbed it. She was almost afraid to put it on -- as if some alarm wound sound somewhere.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well," he said, "Not my first time."

She slipped it onto her left wrist, and he leaned forward to open the glove box. Her eyes widened at what she saw in there -- besides new-looking jewelry, there were those expensive ink pens, small kits of the most expensive make-up, a fancy-looking watch -- she glanced back at him.

"People'll pay a lot of money for that shit." He told her, tossing the new bracelets into it. "See something you like?"

She shook her head, unable to think of something to say. He didn't seem to notice though, and started pulling more stuff out of his pockets. More pens went into the glove box, a pack of cell phone charms, and a little black box -- obviously more jewelry. She pointed at it before he could shut the glove box.

"What's that?" She asked.

He grinned at her. "See for yourself."

She reached forward almost hesitantly, and pulled out the satin box. She popped it open, and found a pair of diamond stud earrings.

"How do you manage to get away with stuff like this?" She asked.

He took the earrings from her, tossing them back into the glove box, and he shut it as he shrugged. "I know what to go for." He said. "Most of the shit I get is cheap anyway -- those are the worst kinda diamonds you could ever want, but you bet your ass I'll get someone to buy 'em for more than they're worth."

Ellie knew it was wrong, and she wanted to be mad at him, maybe some girls would even be disgusted by what he did -- but she found that she couldn't feel that way. She didn't mind it -- and not just because he'd gotten her something she'd wanted -- it's not like the store would miss it anyway, right?

"Please don't tell me you're about to lecture me." Jay said dryly.

She quickly shook her head. "No." She answered. "I should...but I don't want to."

He grinned at her. "Good."

"Don't you have a job though?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered. "But I'm saving up some money, and my job pays practically below minimum wage."

"What are you saving up for?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Parts for my car." He said. "Or a new car altogether."

She nodded again, but fell silent. She looked down at her new bracelet, and ran her fingers over the smooth beads. Jay's habit wasn't hurting anyone, why not let him do it? She smiled again, feeling somewhat rebellious for playing a small part in it, and she looked out the window again.

---------------------------------------------

They spent the rest of the day going into random stores, walking around town, or driving. Ellie almost forgot that it was technically a school day, even though she was wearing her uniform. When Jay mentioned that it was time to head back, she was almost confused. But then she realized that she had to be home normal time so her parents wouldn't suspect anything.

The ride to her house was silent, Jay's warm hand on her bare knee. As he'd done on Friday night, he'd parked his car around the block from Ellie's house. She glanced at the clock in his car as she reached into the back seat, and she pulled her bag into her lap again. She didn't want to leave -- she'd been having such a good time with him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." She said. "Not in the morning as I can't trust you or myself to get me to school unless I'm on the bus." His laugh made her smile, and she opened the door. "And I feel like I should thank you for a wonderful day, chock-full of shoplifting and making fun of old people."

"Ain't life grand?" He asked her.

She laughed at him, starting to climb out of the car, but he suddenly said her name -- not Ginger, but Ellie. She turned around, and suddenly his lips were on hers. She stiffened as one of his hands found her face, cupping her chin firmly. It was almost an exact repeat of Friday night, until Jay deepened the kiss. He pushed his tongue between her slightly parted lips, and despite her shock at him giving her a real kiss, her embarrassment at her lack of knowledge, and her intense amount of amplified excitement -- she willed herself to relax and attempt to kiss him back.

It wasn't that hard to follow the motions, she figured out -- most girls acted like kissing was this big thing that was hard to do. It was actually quite natural, and in seconds, their tongues were meeting in an almost sacred dance in her mouth, as they both breathed heavily. One of her hands had moved on its own to rest against the side of his neck, and he had moved his one hand from her chin to her cheek. His other had found a spot on her thigh, and while one part of her mind focused on kissing him, the other was focused on the feelings that his hand was stirring.

And just as quickly as it'd started, it was over. He broke the kiss, pulling his head back some, and he was grinned at her, blue-gray eyes searching hers. She tried to regulate her breathing, but it felt like she couldn't get any air into her lungs at all. After a long moment, she finally managed to say something.

"Wow." She said lamely.

He gave a little laugh. "My favorite expression."

After a pat on her thigh and a kiss to her jaw bone, Jay had leaned back in his seat -- her cue to get out. She hesitantly climbed out of the car, still reeling from the effects he'd had on her, and as she shut the door, a smile came to her face. She walked to the house in an almost daze, replaying the kiss over and over in her head. She'd once said in the past that she'd never act like those silly girls in movies, but she realized that she just couldn't help it.

She didn't think anything could bring her down from this high.

At least not until she'd walked inside and found her mom, home early from work, and obviously angry. Mrs. Nash stared at her as she shut the door, as if waiting for an explanation, and Ellie tried to figure out how her mother could have found out.

"The school called." Mrs. Nash said, as if reading Ellie's mind. "Did you forget they call parents when girls don't show up?"

And a volcano erupted in the Nash household.


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note**: Once again, thank you guys so much for reviewing. I'm starting to apprentice at a tattoo shop, which will begin to take up a lot of my time, but I will try to update this on a regular basis. Sorry this one's a little shorter than all the others.

---------------------------------------------  
**Linger**  
---------------------------------------------

**Five.  
-**

Mrs. Nash had long since told Ellie to go to her room -- punished, of course. Ellie had lied, making up a name when her mother asked her who she'd been with. She hoped to any god that would listen that there wasn't a real girl at her school named Sarah Lane.

Now Ellie was sitting at the top of the stairs, arms around her knees, and breath holding so it was easier to listen. Her parents were arguing -- and it sounded like her father was defending her. Her mother was going on and on about how she couldn't believe their daughter would do something like that, while Mr. Nash tried to tell her it was just Ellie being a teenager. As Mrs. Nash had lectured Ellie for at least two hours, he had just stood in the kitchen doorway, watching the floor and listening to the ordeal.

"Being a teenager?" Mrs. Nash echoed his words.

"Come on," he said, "Didn't you do anything like that when you were her age?"

"Never!" Mrs. Nash exclaimed, as if she were appalled. "Because I had respect for my parents, for my school system."

Ellie rolled her eyes, and her dad's silence told her he was thinking the exact same thing. She sighed silently, before standing up -- she'd heard enough, and at least her dad was on her side. He may've been able to help her out of punishment early, as her mother had grounded her for three weeks.

She entered her bedroom, shutting the door softly, and reaching down to finger the bracelet she was still wearing. She spun it around on her wrist for a second or two, before smiling. She didn't care that she'd been punished, and she didn't care that her mother would probably be pissed for another year about this -- all that mattered was Jay. Ellie couldn't believe how fast she'd fallen for him, but as silly as she felt, she also felt happy -- more than happy. This was what she needed, what she'd been needing since the seventh grade.

She pulled the bracelet off, setting it down on her bedside table as if it were a piece of fragile glass, and she grabbed her cordless phone. She didn't know if her mother would take her phone privileges away too, so she had to call Liz now to fill her in on what'd happened. Liz answered on the second ring.

"Hey," she'd said when she realized it was Ellie. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ellie answered, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, I guessed you were sick or something," Liz said. "Why else would you miss school?"

"One simple reason, actually," Ellie said, unable to hide her smile. "And it begins with a J and ends with a Y."

Liz's silence gave away that something was wrong, and Ellie's smile quickly faltered. Before she could ask what it was all about, Liz replied. "Oh?" She asked, "What'd you guys do?"

"Drove around," Ellie answered. "What's wrong?"

"What?" Liz asked, "What do you mean?"

"You're talking like a robot now," Ellie answered. "What's wrong?"

Liz took a deep breath. "Ell," she said, "I don't think...this whole...infatuation with Jay is smart."

"_What_?" Ellie asked, starting to smirk -- Liz was probably just being a worry-wart again. "Liz, god, it was only one day. I don't plan to make it a habit of skipping."

"No, no. That's not it," Liz said, and at her pause, Ellie could just imagine her biting her lip. "Ellie -- I have a friend who goes to school with him...she told me some things about him that...well...aren't so nice."

Ellie grabbed her stuffed rabbit, not noticing the way her hand clenched into a fist around one of its ears. She swallowed hard, trying to take a deep breath. She was already angry at her parents, so she assumed she was only getting annoyed because of them.

"Who's your friend?" She asked, attempting to be casual. "Maybe it's a girl who he dumped or something."

"No," Liz said slowly, "She doesn't even speak to him."

"Well then how does she know all this stuff about him?" Ellie demanded. "If they don't talk to each --"

"Ellie, the whole school knows about him -- he's notorious for being who he is," Liz cut her off.

Ellie's eyes rolled for the second time that night. "Liz," she said, "You're making it sound like it's one of those cheesy high school movies, I mean -- what's the worst he's done? Steal a few things?"

"That among other things," Liz answered. "Ashley says he's basically the poster boy for bad guy -- steals, drinks, picks on and ridicules people, harasses girls --"

"Stop," Ellie said suddenly. "Why are you doing this?"

"You have to know," Liz said, "I don't want you getting hurt. And..."

"And what?" Ellie asked. "Now you're gonna tell me, I don't know, that he rapes girls or something, right?"

"He doesn't rape them," Liz said slowly, "But he gives them gonorrhea."

Ellie snorted, starting to laugh. "You're unbelievable." She said.

"He sleeps around Ell, he takes girls down to this ravine where they party and have sex all night," Liz was now talking quickly, and she sounded sincerely worried. But that didn't stop Ellie's anger. "He --"

"You didn't like him from the start!" Ellie said, her turn to cut her friend off. "You're just trying to ruin things because you don't like him."

"No, Ell, that's not it --"

"Okay, then what is it?" Ellie asked. "You don't want me to be happy? Or are you jealous that I finally found someone?"

"Ellie --"

The redhead angrily hung up the phone, before throwing it off of her bed. It hit the floor, bouncing slightly, and the back of it fell off. And strangely she didn't care. She rolled over, burying her face in her pillows and still clutching her rabbit tightly. For a few moments, she lay there thinking about how mean Liz was being. But then her anger started to subside, and she realized that it was actually her who'd been a little mean. Liz _was_ just trying to help.

Ellie took a deep breath, rolling onto her back again, and she stared guiltily at the ceiling for a while. The very last rays of sunlight disappeared, and her room slowly sank to darkness. And then another thought struck her mind.

Was Jay doing all of those things? She tried to tell herself he wasn't the type, but she'd seen a part of it earlier that day, hadn't she?

Her door suddenly opened, the Mrs. Nash appeared, flipping the light switch. Ellie squinted as the overhead light practically blinded her, and she turned to see her mother bend to pick up the phone. She didn't even question why it was broken, instead looking at Ellie.

"No phone," she said. Her eyes flickered to the computer, and she walked over to it. In a few seconds, she'd grabbed the cord that connected Ellie to the internet, and she turned back to her daughter. "And no internet."

"What if I need it for my homework?" Ellie asked.

"Then you can use the one in the den," Mrs. Nash answered, "Under my supervision."

Ellie glared at her mother's back as she disappeared from the room, turning the light back off and shutting the door. As darkness swallowed the room again, Ellie rolled onto her side, looking at her bedside table. The clock read that it was too early for her to go to bed, but she didn't particularly care at the moment. Her gaze fell upon the bracelet, and she sighed.

A part of her relaxed at seeing it, but the other part of her was still confused. Liz couldn't be right, could she?


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Note**: Wow, I'm sorry guys -- I know it seems like I'd abandoned this story. Really I just hadn't had a lot of time to work on it because of my job. But I'm back, with the next part, and I hope you guys continue to read and enjoy. :)

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**Linger  
**---------------------------------------------

**Six**.  
**-**

"And you're to come _right home_ after school, young lady, do you understand me?"

Ellie nodded mindlessly at her mother's words as she reached for the door knob, but said nothing. She'd tried to convince her mother to let her stay home from school today -- she couldn't stand the thought of facing Liz after what she'd done to the blonde on the phone. But of course, Mrs. Nash was still very angry about the day before, and had all but used brute force to get her daughter out of bed.

A gust of wind caught Ellie off guard as she trudged down the walkway, dragging her feet on the cement. Her hair, which she'd barely felt like brushing that morning, whipped around her face, and she pulled her jacket closer around her. She'd been planning on doing what'd she'd done the morning before -- going to Jay's house instead of the bus stop. But not only did she not trust Jay to take her to school, she was kind of scared to see him.

What if Liz was right? What if everything she'd said was true? Was Jay really some sort of bullying asshole with nothing better to do than steal things and sleep around? Ellie shook her head to herself -- she was just going to try and forget about Jay for the time being -- it was hurting her head to think about that kind of stuff.

It looked like she'd be riding the bus that morning.

She took her normal seat in the front of the bus, close to the driver, and squeezed against the window. She didn't realize that she'd chosen to sit on the wrong side of the bus until it was rumbling past Jay's house. He was just coming out of his house, and she could've sworn that their eyes met.

She gave a little sigh, sliding down in her seat some and looking down at her wrist. She'd put on the bracelet he'd given her, but she suddenly felt wrong wearing it. After a thoughtful moment of biting her lip, she pulled it off and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"Sorry, Jay," she mumbled to herself, before closing her eyes and resting her head against the seat.

---------------------------------------------

"Ellie, please?"

Ellie stopped on her way to the bathroom, and turned to face Liz. She'd done a good job of avoiding the blonde up until lunch time -- the minute Liz had tried to talk to her in the cafeteria, Ellie had bolted for the door. But now she just couldn't stand to hear the desperation in her friend's voice.

Liz however, was apparently surprised that she got through to Ellie, and she paused, as if searching for what to say. Ellie crossed her arms, keeping her gaze pointed at the floor, and Liz took a hesitant step forward.

"Look, I'm sorry," Liz said sincerely, "I just...I thought you should know. I don't want him to hurt you."

Ellie swallowed hard -- she was getting that feeling in the back of her throat that said she was close to crying, and she didn't know why. Because she was mad at herself for falling for Jay? Because she was upset that things were too good to be true? She didn't know.

"Liz," she said slowly, "You're my best friend, you know that." Liz was nodding enthusiastically, and Ellie sighed, "But...I kind of just want to be by myself right now."

"But why?" Liz asked, looking crestfallen.

"Because I'm not sure of anything right now," Ellie said, "And I've already snapped at you once for something that wasn't your fault. I don't want to do it again."

She turned and started to walk away, but Liz hurried after her.

"Ell, I don't mind. I don't care about that!" She tried to insist.

"I do," Ellie said simply, before turning into the bathroom. She half-expected Liz to follow her, but sighed with relief when the blonde didn't appear.

She walked to one of the sinks, glancing at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She shook her head at herself, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair. She could suddenly hear Jay's voice in her head, calling her 'Ginger' in that tone that drove her completely mad. She mentally cursed him, before going to the large window -- she would spend the rest of her lunch period sitting in the sill and watching the grounds.

It looked like it was going to rain, yet again.

---------------------------------------------

Wednesday and Thursday went by the exact same way. Ellie got on the bus in the morning -- remembering to sit on the other side so she wouldn't have to see that orange Honda -- and she avoided Liz and any of her other friends during the day. Then she got on the bus again and went straight home. It wasn't so hard actually -- she could grow used to this kind of thing.

She was sitting at her desk, reading for English, when her mother entered the room. Ellie was sure it was because Mrs. Nash was going to allow her to use the internet again, and she started to get a little excited.

"Your father and I are going out," Mrs. Nash said, crushing Ellie's hopes. "Both tonight and tomorrow tonight -- dinner parties with our bosses."

Ellie nodded, not looking up from her book. "Okay," she said.

"As you are still grounded, I expect you to not leave this house," Mrs. Nash then said.

Ellie almost snorted -- even when she wasn't grounded she didn't leave the house. Instead of saying this though, she just nodded again. Mrs. Nash was silent for a moment, as if surprised by her daughter's blankness, but then she sighed.

"I will be calling throughout the night to check up on you," she said, "We'll be back around eleven."

Ellie waited until Mrs. Nash had left the room, and she shut her book, glancing towards the door. Great, her parents were going out until around eleven (which probably meant closer to midnight), and she had the whole house to herself. She wished she could be more excited about it.

Standing up, she went to her dresser to pull out her pajamas. A nice hot shower sounded good at the moment, and then maybe she'd watch a chick flick or two before going to bed.

As she was leaving her bedroom, her dad was coming from his, straightening the tie he was wearing. He smiled when he saw his daughter, and slowed to a stop.

"I'll see you later, honey," he said. He then leaned closer and lowered his voice, "And don't worry about being grounded -- I'm working on your mother. It won't be for much longer."

Ellie forced a smile. "Thanks Dad," she said, "Have fun tonight."

"Oh, you know it," he replied with that dry sarcasm she'd inherited.

He disappeared to the stairs, and Ellie gave a low sigh as she entered the bathroom. She had to admit, she honestly could've cared less if she was grounded for the rest of her life.

---------------------------------------------

Ellie finished brushing her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror again, trying to ignore the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately, as she would lay awake and imagine the kinds of things she'd say to Jay the next time she spoke to him -- if that ever happened.

She quickly ran a brush through her wet hair, and tossed her clothes into the hamper. She was forced to wear one of her silky nightgowns from a few years before -- her favorite PJs were still in the laundry. As she looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, she self-consciously pulled at the nightgown. It was a light pink color and way too small for her now -- too much of her chest was exposed, and she wasn't used to showing off her thighs like so.

She shrugged -- who'd she have to deal with at this time of night besides Buttons the Bunny? She pulled open the door, contemplating whether or not she felt like watching a movie now, and walked slowly down the hallway. She entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, and was just walking to her stereo when she noticed there was someone else in her room.

Jay Hogart was sitting at her desk, flicking aimlessly through her English book.

She gave a loud gasp, reaching up to clutch her chest, and she backed up against the dresser, knocking a few knick-knacks to the floor. He looked up at her, eyes piercing as ever, and his lips twitched into a small smirk at her obvious fear.

"Jay!" She exclaimed, "How did you get in here?!"

He pointed to the window, which was open, allowing a cool night breeze to sweep in, bringing with it the sound of crickets chirping. Ellie looked back at him, before pulling at her nightgown again, wishing she could stretch it out. He'd taken his jacket off, and it was draped on the back of the chair -- as if he owned the place.

"My parents would kill you if they knew you were here!" She said, still breathing hard from her little scare.

"I don't care," he said, and he suddenly stood up.

It was almost comical how out of place he looked in her room -- with it's baby pink walls and white carpet (her mother's idea, not her's). He suddenly crossed his arms though, and there was a seriousness to him that Ellie wasn't used to.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You're avoiding me, that's what."

Ellie took a deep breath, trying to feign nonchalance, and she shook her head. "No," she said, "No I'm not."

"Bullshit, Ellie," he said, he grinned, though there wasn't any real humor to it. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a tease."

She flushed, both out of anger and embarrassment, and crossed her own arms, sticking her chin out stubbornly. "And if I didn't know any better, I'd say _you_ were a lowly player."

His eyes widened just slightly. "What are you talking about?" He asked, surprised by her words.

Ellie hadn't originally planned to tell him about the rumors she'd heard about him, but now she just couldn't help it. She needed to know if they were true.

"I know someone who goes to your school, Jay," she said, "And from what I hear, you're quite the jerk."

"Who do you know?" He asked in a quiet tone.

"That's not important," she answered. "And _I_ should be asking the questions here. You don't steal from just stores, do you? You steal from people."

"Ellie --" he said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, "And the ravine? I heard about that too -- where you mess around with girls."

"Not anymore," he suddenly said. "I _did_, Ginger. I messed around a lot -- what do you expect? I'm a guy."

Ellie hated what was happening -- her anger was slowly ebbing away, and she was growing happier by the minute that she was even hanging out with him. She cursed herself -- he was just so charming, even when they arguing.

"Did?" She echoed finally. "You don't anymore?"

He smiled, "No," he answered. "It got kind of old, and then I met you."

Ellie sighed and rolled her eyes, but she was easily falling for him again. "And what?" She asked, somewhat sarcastically, "You're a changed man?"

"No," he answered, taking a step towards her, "But I'm trying."

She let out a deep breath, turning her head and looking at the floor. She didn't want to believe him -- something in the back of her head made her think he was lying, made her _know_ that he was lying. But she was just so happy to see him again -- she hadn't realized how much she'd missed him.

He was suddenly grabbing her wrists lightly, and he pulled her arms apart. She flushed a bright scarlet color as he looked her up and down, smirking smugly.

"Nice," he said winking at her.

She scoffed under her breath, snatching her arms away, and walking around him towards her bed. She sat down, grabbing her stuffed rabbit and holding it in her lap as if it would held shield her body. Jay turned to her and studied her, hands on his hips.

"So is that it?" He asked. "You were avoiding me because of those rumors?"

She shrugged, playing with one of the rabbit's ears. "Can you blame me?"

"Nah, guess not," he answered. "But does that mean things are okay with us now? You'll stop avoiding me?"

She paused, wanting to tell him that things weren't working, wanting to tell him that she was better off without him. But instead she nodded.

"Yeah," she answered.

He grinned at her again, and in an instant was sitting beside her on the bed, stretching his legs out and making himself at home.

"I like your room," he said.

"Ugh, please," she said shaking her head.

"No really," he insisted, "It's comfy." He watched her in silence for a moment, before he changed the subject. "Can I give you a ride to school tomorrow?" He asked.

"As long as you promise me that you'll take me there," she said. "I got grounded because of Monday."

A wide grin broke his features again, and he playfully gave her shoulder a small shove. "There ya go," he said, "Rebellions fun, ain't it?"

She rolled her eyes, but found herself smirking. She raised her eyebrows and side-glanced him. "Well?" She asked. "Do you promise to take me directly to school tomorrow?"

He held up his right hand. "Honest Injun," he said.

She smiled, finding herself starting to relax. She glanced at her clock -- it was only eight o'clock now, and she had nothing to worry about with him in her room. As if reading her mind, Jay reached over with one hand and grabbed her chin -- his touch was still firm, and something about that excited her.

Seconds later, he was holding her in place as he leaned in to kiss her, and she met his lips with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Their second kiss was better than their first, in Ellie's opinion -- probably because she knew what to do this time around.

She hesitantly slipped her arms around his neck as their tongues met, mouths moving rhythmically against one another's. In one swift movement, he'd moved Buttons the Bunny from Ellie's lap and dropped it to the floor -- all without moving his lips from hers. The hand that was on her cheek now moved down to her neck, while he moved his other one to her hair, combing his fingers through it.

And Ellie found that as he leaned more into her, she didn't push against him -- she let him guide her down to her mattress. He laid down half-on top of her and half-beside her, breaking their kiss finally. He looked at her briefly, as if waiting for her to stop him, and he pressed his lips against her jaw, leaving a hot trail of kisses along the bone. He then moved his mouth to the base of her throat, where he started to lightly bite suck gently on her smooth skin.

Her breathing was hitching in her chest as she balled his tee shirt into her fists, letting her eyes flutter closed. She could feel that her face was hot -- she was, without a doubt in her mind, the color of a setting sun -- but she was too 'in-the-moment' to really care. His warm lips on her skin created was a sensation she could've never imagined, and when his teeth grazed over her collarbone, she felt a shudder of sorts go through her body.

His hand was suddenly on her thigh, and she quickly reached down to grab it as he started to slide it under her nightgown.

"Jay," she said, almost exasperated -- he was ruining a perfectly good moment.

He gave a sheepish little chuckle, nodding. "Right, sorry," he said. He then set his hand on her knee and kept it there, and she didn't mind that so much.

What she _did _mind was the tiny voice in the back of her head. She didn't want to think about the 'what if's -- what if Jay was lying? What if he was just playing her? It was all too much for her to worry about, and all she wanted to do was revel in the moment.

Pushing her thoughts away, she lightly grabbed Jay's head, pulling him up from her neck and pressing her lips against his.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note**: Thanks a lot to JoJoJet -- glad you're enjoying the story. :)

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**Linger**  
---------------------------------------------

**Seven.  
-**

She could hear Jay's car pull away as she walked up the stone steps of St. Hilary's, and she glanced over her shoulder before she entered, able to see the Honda squeal around the corner. As he'd promised the night before, he'd taken her directly to school that morning -- something that made Ellie smile. It proved that he wasn't all bad, right? And something else that proved he wasn't all bad was the way he'd treated her the night before -- he hadn't pressured her into doing anything, hadn't tried to force anything on her. Maybe he _was_ trying to change.

As she turned down the hallway that would take her to her locker, Ellie slowed slightly, taking a breath. Liz was at her own locker, messing around with something in her bag, and Ellie knew she had to apologize. But she was suddenly embarrassed of how she'd acted, ashamed of treating her best friend like that. Shaking her head, she stuck her chin up, and marched straight for the blonde.

Liz looked a little surprised, "Ellie?"

"Hey," the redhead said, somewhat sheepish, "I wanted to...Liz, I'm sorry. I don't know, I guess it's almost my time of the month or something, I was a real jerk."

Liz grinned, for which Ellie was thankful -- a grin obviously meant that Liz harbored no hard feelings. "Yeah," she said, "You _were_ a jerk -- but that's okay. I forgive you."

Ellie smiled, "Thanks," she said. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't my best friend."

Liz pulled her into a small hug, giving a little laugh. "You'd be that jerk that has no friends, of course." She said playfully.

Ellie laughed, smacking the other girl's shoulder lightly. Things were starting to look up again.

---------------------------------------------

"Oh no," were the only words Ellie could get out as her bag slipped from her shoulder.

It happened in slow motion -- the bag taking a tumble down the stairs, contents spilling everywhere. Ellie gave a small throaty noise of irritation, reaching up run her fingers through her hair, and she glanced at the window she was near. As if on cue, her bus pulled away from St. Hilary's, and she gave a little sigh. Maybe she should just become a permanent walker.

After gathering her things, Ellie quickly left the school -- she didn't want to be too late getting home, as she didn't know if her mother was still mad at her. As she stepped outside, zipping her jacket up, she almost ran head-on into Liz.

"Oh, Ellie," she said, "Missed your bus _again_?"

Ellie grinned, "Surprise, surprise," she said.

That's when she noticed the other girl that was standing with Liz -- it wasn't a St. Hilary's student, as she was wearing casual clothes -- torn up jeans, a punk rock tee shirt. Ellie was momentary jealous of the girl's dyed hair, as her mother would've killed her had she attempted to do that to her own hair. A feeling in her stomach told Ellie who this was without even having to speak to her.

"Ell, this is my friend, Ashley," Liz said -- and the strain in her tone made it obvious that she had had to fight to keep from saying, 'She goes to school with Jay' or 'She's the one I told you about'.

"Hi," the girl named Ashley said brightly.

Ellie was almost taken aback by the girl's cheerful attitude, but she quickly responded, "Hey." She'd absentmindedly started playing with the bracelet Jay'd gotten her -- she'd put it back on that morning after finding it in her jacket pocket. She now turned it slowly around on her wrist, fingering the beads in an almost nervous way.

Ashley's dark eyes flickered to the bracelet, but instead of saying anything, she smiled. And as much as Ellie wanted to be upset at the girl for being the one to bring those ugly rumors about Jay to the surface, Ellie found herself liking Ashley more and more with each passing second.

"I feel like we've already met," Ashley said randomly to Ellie, "Liz talks about you so much." She then added playfully, "Almost as if you two were attached at the hip."

Liz rolled her eyes and gave Ashley a light shove. Ellie grinned and shook her head.

"No," she said, "Almost as if she were --" a dramatic pause, "-- in love with me."

"Oh you guys!" Liz said, somewhat embarrassed. "I knew you'd get along because of you both being..._weird_."

Both Ashley and Ellie laughed, and once again Ellie was surprised at how much she already liked the other girl. But then she glanced at her watch and knew that she had to leave _now_. She cleared her throat.

"I hate to cut this short," she said, "But my mom's gonna kill me if I don't get home soon."

"See ya, Ellie," Liz said with a small wave.

"Nice meeting you," Ashley said.

Ellie waved and smiled at the both of them as she turned around and started home. Feeling considerably lighter than she had in the past few days, she was humming a little tune to herself as she walked -- she was about a hair away from skipping home, to be honest. She was "with" Jay again, her and Liz were okay again -- and she'd even made a new friend. There was no way things could get worse.

Unsurprisingly, Jay was outside when Ellie was passing his house -- he'd been climbing out of his car when she got close enough to see, and by the time she'd reached him, he was leaning against it, hands in his pockets.

"Hey," he said, "Someone looks to be in a good mood."

"That's because I am," Ellie said.

He grinned before straightening and stepping towards her. He lightly grabbed the collar of her jacket, before pulling her into a small kiss. Even though it was far from their first kiss, Ellie swayed lightly on her feet when he pulled back, butterflies erupting in her gut -- she hoped he wouldn't have this effect on her all the time.

"So anyway," Jay said, leaning against his car again, "A couple of friends of mine have been begging me to go to the ravine all week -- it would be ever-so-lovely if my lady friend could come with me."

Ellie tried not to focus too much on the word 'ravine' and more on the fact that Jay wanted her to go with him. She smiled again.

"Sure," she said, then she frowned, "I mean, no. I can't. I'm still grounded. _Because of you_."

Jay grinned, "Oh right," he said, "I guess I only have myself to blame then." He raised an eyebrow suddenly, looking very sly. "Of course," he said, "You could always..._sneak_ out." He put a hand to his mouth, giving a mock gasp.

She gave a laugh, but shook her head. "You know I can't," she said, "With my luck, my parents would give up on their dinner meeting and come home at exactly the same time as I was leaving. Then you wouldn't have a lady friend anymore, as the both of them would kill me."

"Nah," he said, still smirking, "You're just a little Goody Two-Shoes -- but that's okay."

"I don't know if I should be offended by that or not," Ellie said.

Jay grinned again, but before either of them spoke again, a car had pulled to a slow stop next to Jay's, and they both turned to see who it was. Ashley rolled down the driver's side window, smiling out at the two of them -- well, mostly Ellie; it seemed as though she were trying to forget that Jay was there. But then again, Jay doesn't like to be ignored.

"Kerwin! How ya doin'?" He called to her as if they were old friends.

"Jay," she said, mock-sweetly. Then she looked back at Ellie. "Just passing by -- do you want a ride?"

With all the time she'd spent dawdling, she could _definitely _use a ride. She nodded, before noticing the look that Jay suddenly had -- he seemed a bit sour, jealous even. She quickly grabbed one of his arms, getting him to look at her.

"Sorry," she said, "But I really need to get home before my parents decide to ground me further -- by locking me up in the basement and not even letting me go to school."

This made Jay smirk, and he nodded. "I'll pop by tomorrow or something," he said, "And don't worry -- I know when your parents aren't home. They got one of the flashiest rides on the block."

Before she could respond to this, he leaned down and kissed her again. This time it was a deep kiss, slightly rough and even a little possessive -- as if he were showing off for Ashley. When he pulled away from her, and Ellie started towards Ashley's car -- a little flustered, but smiling nonetheless -- he waved at Ashley, who pretended not to have noticed.

Minutes later, Ellie was pulling her seat belt on as she sat in the passenger seat of Ashley's car, and Ashley was pulling away from a smug-looking Jay. Ashley turned to her, giving her a smile, and she tossed her head slightly, getting a few locks of her hair out of her face.

"So what was all that about?" She asked curiously.

Ellie suddenly realized that she didn't mind sharing this kind of stuff with Ashley -- it almost felt as if they were old best friends, and they'd only spent a grand total of six minutes together. It was weird the way Ellie didn't even hesitate in explaining what Jay had been asking.

"He wanted me to go to the ravine with him," she answered.

She side-glanced the Degrassi girl, who had widened her eyes slightly, but chosen to say nothing. Ellie shrugged slightly, knowing what Ashley was thinking.

"He's only going because his friends have been begging him to," she said. "He doesn't do..._that_ anymore."

Ashley nodded, still not saying anything, and Ellie felt like this was her cue to keep speaking.

"He's changed," Ellie said, "I know it doesn't seem like it...he _is_ an asshole. But he's not the way he used to be -- make a right here."

Ashley obliged, turning onto Ellie's road, and she gave another nod before finally speaking. "You're probably right," she said. "It isn't unheard of for people to make such changes --" she gave Ellie another smile, "-- it's a shame you can't go with him."

Ellie was suddenly getting the feeling that Ashley was only saying that so as not to upset her. Ellie pointed out her house with a furrowed brow, wondering what was going on in Ashley's mind.

"You don't think he's changed, do you?" She asked as they stopped outside her house.

Ashley visibly swallowed, shrugging her shoulders. "It's hard for me -- I might be a little biased because I've known him for so long."

Ellie looked down at her lap. "Do you think he's going to...you know...?" She asked. "Tonight?"

Ashley looked at her, then looked away, not answering. Ellie nodded, accepting this as an answer, and she pulled her seat belt off. She took a deep breath, and tried to appear casual.

"So...where _is_ this ravine?" She asked. "Just out of curiosity."

The look Ashley gave her made her know that Ashley could see right through her front. An understanding passed between the two girls, and Ashley gave her detailed and explicit directions to the ravine.

"I can...give you a ride there sometime, if you'd like to see it," she said, actually meaning: _I can take you there tonight when your parents leave_.

Ellie shook her head, "No thanks," she said, "I just wanted to know," which translated to: _I want to be by myself if I see something I don't like_.

Ashley nodded, smiling again. "I'll see you some other time, then, Ellie," she said, "It was really cool meeting you."

Ellie smiled as well, opening her door. "You too," she said, "And thanks for the ride."

---------------------------------------------

Ellie had gone directly up to her room when she'd entered -- thankfully, her parents hadn't noticed her lateness -- and she'd spent ten minutes attempting her math homework, before she'd started pacing her room.

It was now close to six, and she was still pacing -- all but wearing a hole in her carpet. Her arms were crossed, brow furrowed, and she couldn't stop thinking about Jay -- more specifically what he planned to do tonight at the ravine. He'd said he was trying to change, but even Ellie had been a bit suspicious and doubtful -- and now Ashley was doubting his change?

She finally stopped her laps around her room, and sighed. She nodded to herself, as if deciding something, and went back to her desk. She was going to pretend to do homework until her parents left, and then it was off to the ravine for her -- she'd find out once and for all if Jay really was a changed man.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Author's Note**: You guys have no idea how much it means to me to have you all still reading. Thank you. :) This is going to sound lame, but I really liked the way this chapter turned out -- I'd love to know what you all think.

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**Linger**  
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**Eight.  
-**

The sound of her knuckles cracking seemed to echo through her living room, and she quickly sat on her hands to keep from fidgeting. Her dark eyes flickered to the clock above the television, and she gave a small sigh. Her parents had left for their dinner meeting close to ten minutes ago, but she was still a little nervous to leave her house -- it would be just her luck for them to have forgotten something and come back for it.

She swallowed, leaning back some and trying to get more comfortable -- this was impossible of course. In the short amount of time since her decision to go to the ravine, Ellie had convinced herself that Jay was doing things he shouldn't be. She'd taken her bracelet off, put it back on, taken it off, and now it was back on her wrist. She was so confused, so doubtful and worried -- if this is what it felt like to have a boyfriend, then she didn't want one.

Glancing down at the pink and blue piece of jewelry, she gnawed at her bottom lip. After a second or two, she ripped it from her hand and threw it across the room. It made a light thump on the carpet, and she gave a heavy sigh of relief -- as if the bracelet had been weighing her down. Blinking a few times, she looked back at the clock, and deciding that her parents were _truly_ gone, she stood up. Grabbing her jacket from the coat rack by the door, she quickly pulled it on and zipped it up. She started for the door, but as she grabbed the knob, she glanced over her shoulder. The bracelet looked so helpless in the middle of the living room -- she couldn't just leave it there.

She quickly returned to it, scooping it up and dropping it into her jacket pocket -- just in case. Then she left, double-checking to see if she had her keys before locking the door. She hadn't felt like changing out of her St. Hilary's uniform -- and she fidgeted with the bottom hem of her skirt as she started walking, trying to think of anything _but_ the ravine.

She'd spent the better half of her afternoon repeating Ashley's directions in her head, all but imprinting them into the walls of her mind, and she found that as she walked, it seemed like she'd already been to the ravine before.

She didn't know how long it took her to get there, but when she did, she was almost surprised. Cars littered the grassy area, couples were either laying on the hoods or sitting inside -- doing things that Ellie had only ever seen in movies. She tried not to stare as she walked around, and tried to ignore the stares she received in return. She didn't like the look of some of the guys there, and she kept asking herself why Jay hung out with such people.

_Because he isn't the Knight in Shining Armor that you think he is_, a voice in the back of her head said.

She shook this thought away, and caught sight of the familiar orange car that she'd grown fond of. She quickly neared it, hoping Jay would be there -- by himself or with one of his guy friends. _Please_, she thought, _Please don't let him be with another girl_.

"Hey, Cherry."

She almost ran head-on into a guy who'd stepped into her way. Tall and shady-looking, this guy didn't even seem young enough to be friends with Jay. Ellie's heart sped up just slightly, and she pushed her chin out some, attempting to look casual, if not a little tough.

"What's a good girl like you doing in a bad place like this?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Looking for someone," she answered stiffly.

"Could that someone be me?" He asked, giving the faintest wiggle of his eyebrows.

She grimaced at the ugly gleam in his eye, and stepped back some. "What are you? Like thirty?" She asked.

"Age is just a number, China Doll," he said, "Why don't you come back to my car -- you'd look real good in my car."

Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat, struggled not to let her fear show, and she attempted a little smile, hoping her voice came out stronger than it felt. "And I bet my boyfriend would think you'd look real good with your face ripped off," she said. "I'm not interested, pal. Don't lose any more hair over it."

And holding her breath, she walked around him. She was sure he was going to grab her arm, whisk her off to some dark corner and rape her senseless. But she got lucky, and heard him grumble something under his breath before he walked away. She let her breath out in a gigantic _whoosh_, and she mentally patted herself on the back -- she'd never stood up for herself, much less to a man, before. She couldn't help but swell with pride.

The swelling died down though, as she reached Jay's car and found it completely deserted. No Jay, no Jay's friends -- she didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. She licked her lips, drumming her fingers on her thighs as she looked around, and she was about to just sit down and wait for him when she heard it -- his voice.

"And here you are..." he was saying, the rest of the words incoherent.

Ellie quickly turned, and felt a bit of relief wash over her. He was standing a few feet away, behind a pair of small saplings, and he had his back to her. She couldn't see who he was talking to, but she didn't particularly care. There was Jay, and he wasn't doing anything bad -- he _was_ trying to change, he _could_ be her Knight in Shining Armor.

She started towards him, and was just about to open her mouth to say his name -- wouldn't he be happy to see that she'd rebelled against her parents again?

But then he started walking away, holding hands with a different girl. Ellie stopped abruptly, mouth falling open just slightly, and she felt her world collapse at the sight of the gorgeous blonde being led away by _her_ boyfriend. _Her_ Knight.

The girl laughed at something he said, and she leaned up on her tiptoes as they walked to give him a peck on the cheek. He passed her a grin, saying something else, something quietly, and she laughed again. He was leading her to a van -- Ashley and Liz were right.

It all hit Ellie like a bag of bricks, and she felt tears well in her eyes. She was more angry than she was saddened though -- she wanted to rip Jay's head off -- worse, she wanted to rip the girl's head off, shove it down Jay's throat, and then rip Jay's head off. She wanted to go on a crazy murder spree, she wanted to destroy the male race completely.

She wanted to die.

How could she have been so stupid? Even after Liz had warned her -- even after Ashley had attempted to warn her.

She spun on her heel and started to stomp back the way she'd come, but stopped at his car. Just minutes earlier it had been a beacon of hope -- a source of familiar comfort in an unfamiliar place. Now she hated it as much as she hated him. She shook her head, mostly to herself, and an idea struck her. An idea that made her smile, despite her current situation. But this wasn't a smile of mirth, oh no, this was a smile of cruelty.

She pulled her keys slowly from her pocket, looking down at them like they were a sacred weapon. If Jay wanted to play around, let him -- Ellie had a game she'd like to play.

She'd always thought that scratching up a car would be tough work -- she'd never really considered how easy it actually was. And she never imagined it would be so _fun_. She was practically laughing with glee as she carved random things into the shiny paint job of Jay's Honda. Wavy lines, straight lines, pointy little sharp triangles -- she was having one Hell of a time. She even carved a few 'E's in there for good measure.

She barely noticed when people started to gather around her, gawking as she royally messed up a beauty of a car. She could hear people calling for Jay, but she didn't care. Let him come see her do this -- it would serve him right.

When she was satisfied, she pulled her arm back and looked at what she'd done. She'd worked over the whole car -- the doors, the hood, the roof -- it was all scratched to oblivion and it looked _horrible_. She slipped her keys back into her pocket, just as she heard a loud curse.

Jay had just arrived, shirt on backwards, and hair sticking up. His eyes were all but bulging out of their sockets as he stared at his once nice car, and his mouth opened and closed a few times like he were a beached whale. Ellie wanted to laugh -- but all she could focus on was the fact that he looked like he'd been in the middle of sex. This ignited her anger once more, and her momentary joy of trashing something he loved was wrecked.

He looked at her, mouth still moving soundlessly, and she gave a little shrug -- feigning nonchalance. She pulled the bracelet from her pocket and dropped it to the ground before raising her eyebrows at him.

"How's this for Goody Two-Shoes?" She asked, before turning and walking away.

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She didn't know when she'd started running, but she was almost home when she had to slow down to catch her breath. Her throat was sore -- not from the run, but from her struggle to hold back her tears. She didn't want to cry, at least not until she'd reached the sanctuary of her bedroom. She couldn't wait until she got there -- she wanted to scream into a pillow, she wanted to rip one of her least favorite stuffed animals to shreds. Oh if only she had a Jay Hogart doll.

She was just contemplating getting a voodoo doll made when she heard the car behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder to see his (now ruined) car pull to the curb. His door flew open before he'd even stopped, and leaving the ignition running he started to climb out. Ellie's vision blurred again as her tears threatened to spill once more, and she started away quickly, too exhausted to run.

"Ellie!" He called after her, footsteps quick.

He roughly grabbed her arm, spinning her towards him, and she tried to pull herself from his grasp. He was much stronger than she thought though, and he held her steady, in an almost painful grip.

"Get off of me!" She exclaimed, still struggling against him.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" He demanded loudly, "You've got major fuckin' problems."

"Oh _I've_ got problems?" She was crying now -- he'd broken the dam, and tears now cascaded down her cheeks. "I'm not the one playing around when my _girlfriend _is grounded at home. I'm not the one _lying_ to someone I care about!" She gave a tearful scoff, not caring how unattractive it sounded. "Or at least -- I thought you cared about me."

His voice quieted some, but his grip didn't relax. "I _do_ care, Ginger," he said -- he was trying to use _that_ tone on her, the one that always won her over. Not this time.

"Can it!" She almost shouted, "Just shut up, Jay! How many times are you going to lie to me?!"

"Not everything is a lie, Ellie!" He exclaimed. "I like you -- I care about you. I only mess around with other chicks because I don't want to pressure you."

Ellie was stunned into a second of silence, before she furrowed her brow at him. "_What_?" She asked. "Is that supposed to make me feel _better_?"

"Of course," he said, "I mean, come on. At least I'm not trying to have sex with you -- isn't it better that I relieve my tensions on someone else?"

Ellie had never slapped someone before -- she'd never really been the violent type. But it'd been the first thing to cross her mind at his words, and the sound of her palm against his cheek seemed louder than it really was. It seemed to echo down the streets, even.

She gasped slightly, pulling her stinging hand back and staring with wide eyes -- his cheek was already red, and she could make out a few shapes where her fingers had been. She'd hit him pretty hard. His eyes had closed on impact, and his head had turned from the force of the blow. Now his eyes slowly opened, and he turned back to her.

She was instantly frightened -- his normally light gaze was dark and smoldering, and for a split second she thought he was going to hit her back. His grip on her wrist tightened, and she was sure she saw his other hand twitch.

But suddenly, the door of the house they were standing in front of opened, and an elderly man stepped out, holding the leash of his small dog. Jay glanced at the old man, before back at Ellie. He let go of her as if she burned him, and he produced the bracelet from his pocket. Without saying a word, he dropped it at her feet, and stormed off to his car.

She stood there, frozen, as he climbed back into the driver's seat and sped away, tires squealing. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks, and she looked at the man with the dog, embarrassed, before crouching.

She picked up the bracelet and slipped it into her jacket pocket -- just in case.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Author's Note**: Thanks JoJoJet and Promise-V. :D :D

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**Linger**  
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**Nine.  
-**

Ellie beat her parents home Friday night, as she knew she would. And she ended up crashing on the couch -- crying herself to sleep. She was eventually woken up by her father, who half-carried, half-led her up to her bedroom, and she was surprised that he didn't ask questions -- she could still feel the tears on her face. Her last sleepy thought before she drifted off was that he probably thought she'd been crying about being grounded -- parents could be like that sometimes.

Saturday seemed to drag by -- she stayed in bed, moodily staring at the ceiling, or she'd occasionally go to her desk and attempt one question of her homework, before returning to Buttons. She couldn't stop thinking about _him_ and his smug smirk, his naturally husky tone -- on one end of it, she was completely pissed at him, angry that he'd played with her, and she never wanted to see him again (or so God help him if she did, he would regret it), but on the other, she missed him more than imaginable.

As she took a shower that night, she noticed that her wrist had bruised -- he'd been holding her more roughly than she remembered, and she could make out where his fingers had been. She touched it gingerly, wincing slightly at the small pain that came with it, and then she had to smile. Was _his_ face bruised? Did it hurt when he touched it?

She woke early on Sunday morning -- _real_ early, around four. She'd fallen asleep close to midnight, and despite only getting about three and a half hours of sleep, she felt wide awake. She ended up getting up and going to the kitchen -- not really _that_ hungry, but bored. As she started slicing up an apple, her mind once more drifted -- it'd been doing so a lot lately.

How was she going to tell Liz what'd happened? She was sure Ashley, since she went to Degrassi, would hear about it from Jay and his friends, but that didn't make her feel any better. Both girls had been right about him, but Ellie had blindly defended him. She shook her head angrily to herself -- she couldn't believe it, things just went from bad to good to completely horrible.

She suddenly gasped out as the blade she was using cut into her finger. She dropped the knife, walking to the sink to rinse out her cut, but before she could turn on the water, she'd glanced at it. It was somewhat deep -- as her mind had been off in LaLa Land -- and a bead of blood rose from it slowly, before sliding around the pad of her finger and dripping into the sink. It was hypnotizing -- the way it started to trickle out of her faster -- such a small line was producing more blood than she'd thought.

But the best thing about it -- it made her feel better. It was as if someone had taken scissors to her balloon of emotions -- they'd punctured it, and all her bad thoughts had coming zooming out. All her internal pain was momentarily forgotten as she watched the crimson drip out of the wound, making soft pitter-patter noises against the sink.

Ellie glanced back at the knife, which lay crooked on the counter, above her plate of apple slices. One of the street lights outside was the only light she'd been using -- along with the small one from the refrigerator -- and it seemed to create an unearthly glow on the silver blade, as if calling her to it.

"Ellie?"

The overhead light snapped on, and Ellie jumped, looking over to find her father.

"What are you doing this early?" He asked her sleepily.

Ellie quickly turned on the cold water and held her throbbing finger under it. "I couldn't sleep," she answered truthfully, "So I came down to get something to eat." She nodded at her plate of apples.

Mr. Nash neared her, glancing at her hand. "Cut your finger?" He asked.

She nodded, and he reached for the cabinet that they kept medicines in -- aspirin, sinus pills, NyQuil, Tums, et cetera -- and he pulled out a box of band-aids. As she dried her hands, he opened one up for her, and she let him put it on her, briefly feeling like she were eight-years-old again.

"Don't see why you had to use such a big knife," he said, somewhat scolding and somewhat playful.

She smirked. "You know how I like to live on the edge, Dad," she said.

He threw away the band-aid trash, and Ellie returned to her apples to finish cutting them up, after rinsing the knife. Mr. Nash leaned his hip against the counter and watched her for a moment, arms crossed over his chest.

"Is everything alright Ell?" He asked.

She glanced at him, trying to nod, but sure it looked more like she was having a seizure. She couldn't blame her father for noticing that something was wrong -- she'd tried not to mope around, but to no avail. She finally sighed, and set the knife in the sink.

"Uh...just some things...going on," she said slowly -- when she'd been younger, she used to talk to her dad about everything. Usually with kids, it was the mother who listened and gave advice, but with Ellie, it'd always been her dad.

"Want to talk about them?"

She side-glanced him again, before grabbing her plate and nearing the island counter. She pulled herself onto a stool, and busied herself with stacking her apple slices -- she had to play with her food before she could eat it.

"Could you...keep them secret?" She asked.

He sat in the stool across from her, not saying anything for a moment. He suddenly asked, "It's a boy, isn't it?"

She had to smile at his accuracy, and she nodded. "Yeah, Dad," she said, "It's a boy..."

And Jay Hogart was a secret to her father no more. She ended up telling him everything -- even about sneaking out to the ravine to spy on him -- for which she apologized profusely and begged him not to tell her mother. Surprisingly, Mr. Nash was really cool throughout it -- he promised to keep it a secret, and he didn't get mad at her for sneaking out. He got more angry at Jay -- said a few colorful curses about him, before saying that if this boy knew what was best for him, he'd stay far away from the Nash household.

"So...you're not gonna punish me?" Ellie asked, as outside the sky started to turn a light shade of blue -- the sun was on the rise already, and it was amazing how fast the time had flown.

Mr. Nash shook his head. "No," he answered, "I don't blame you for skipping school and whatnot -- it was your mother's idea to send you to that place. You're just doing what everyone else wants to do at your age." He pointed a finger at her, "However," he added, "I'm not giving you permission to do it again."

Ellie quickly nodded. "Wouldn't dream of it," she said.

He smiled, before sliding down from his stool. He walked around to her and slipped an arm over her shoulders, giving her a hug. "Finish your apples and go back to bed, Ell," he said, "And don't let this boy ruin your life -- from what I hear, he isn't worth it."

Ellie smiled and nodded, and he disappeared from the kitchen. Her smiled faded though, and she looked at the small window above the sink. She felt loads better after telling him everything, but she couldn't get Jay out of her head -- there was no way she could just walk away from him, as her father seemed to think was so easy. She shook her head, mostly at herself for being so pathetic when it came to him, and she stood up to throw away the rest of her snack.

Back in her bedroom, Ellie was laying on her side, staring at her bedside table. She stared so hard for so long that the red numbers of her clock had become blurred and distorted, but her main focus was what was next to the clock -- a pair of scissors, half open and gleaming in the ray of sunlight that had slipped through the crack in her curtains.

She kept thinking about the way her blood had dripped easily and steadily into the sink, they way that small pain had made her completely forget her problems -- at least for the moment. Her eyes drifted down to her left arm -- the purple bruise stood out harshly on her pale skin, and she was surprised her father hadn't seen it.

She suddenly reached over for the scissors, but as she grabbed them, she leaned over the side of her bed, and shoved them under the mattress and out of her sight. With a sigh of sorts, she rolled onto her stomach, and buried her head under her pillow.

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"What's wrong?"

Sometime before Ellie woke up, Mr. Nash had convinced his wife to give Ellie her phone back. She would have preferred to have the internet back, but beggars can't be choosers, she supposed. She also supposed that Liz had some sort of ESP, as she had called within an hour of Ellie getting her phone back, and against her better judgement, Ellie had answered it.

"What?" She asked.

"Come on," she said, "You think I can't tell when something's wrong with my best friend?"

"Uh...well," Ellie began slowly. She didn't want to say it, she'd admit. She didn't want to come out and say that Liz had been right all along. "Just some problems with my family, kind of. I can't really talk right now though -- can I call you later?"

The tone in Liz's voice made it clear that she knew Ellie was lying, but she said, "Yeah, sure. See you later, Ell."

Needless to say -- she didn't call Liz back.

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"Honey, just let her miss today."

Ellie could hear her parents talking outside her half-closed bedroom door. She was laying in her bed, moping around some more, and she'd just asked her mother if she could stay home today -- Monday. Of course, Mrs. Nash had been firmly against it, but Mr. Nash had come to save the day again.

"Just let her miss?" Her mother asked, sounding angry.

"She's having problems..." his voice faded slightly, as if he'd started whispering. "Please -- for me."

There was a silence, before Mrs. Nash said something unintelligible. Mr. Nash stuck his head in Ellie's room and gave her a half-smile, before disappearing. Her mother walked away without saying anything, and Ellie sighed in relief. She'd have to face Liz some time, but she just wasn't ready for that some time to be now.

Time seemed to go by in almost slow motion that day -- she dozed off a few times, watching soap operas, and she even had a dream about her life being just like one of those shows. She was a rich and classy girl in her dream, wearing a slinky red dress and diamond earrings, while Jay was the rugged, motorcycle-toting man of interest -- a liar, and a cheater that she was in love with. When she woke up, it was in time to see a man and woman fighting on the show.

"Soaps operas are weird," she said groggily, before changing to a cartoon.

It was around three when there was a knock at her door, and Ellie pushed herself off the couch, having to force her tired bones really. When she pulled open the door, she expected to see the mail man or something, a church-goer -- but instead, there was Ashley.

"Ashley?" Ellie asked, almost confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find out if it was true," Ashley said, smirking just slightly, "True that a St. Hilary's girl trashed Jason Hogart's car."

Minutes later, Ellie and Ashley were both sitting on her bed, and Ellie was telling her story. Ashley seemed to think it was hilarious that Jay's car had gotten ruined, but like a good friend, she expressed her sympathy when Ellie mentioned the fact that Jay _was_ a liar. Ashley slipped an arm around Ellie's shoulders and gave her a little squeeze -- once more Ellie felt like they'd been best friends for ages.

"I'm sorry Ellie," she said, "I'd really hoped he _had_ changed -- for your sake."

"Thanks," she said. "I just wish I'd listened to you and Liz."

Ashley shrugged. "Don't worry about it," she said, "I wouldn't have listened to me and Liz either -- you were just listening to your heart, as corny as that sounds."

Ellie nodded, grinning. "Yeah," she said.

A small silence blanketed them -- both girls seemed to be stuck in their own thoughts. Finally, Ashley sighed, and smiled.

"Say, you wanna go down to The Dot and get something to eat?" She asked.

Ellie shook her head. "No thanks," she said. "Besides, still grounded."

Ashley grinned. "Oh, right," she replied. Then she seemed to remember something. "Oh! I'm having a party this Saturday -- just a random get-your-friends-together type of thing, and I was hoping you could come." She stood up and searched through the pockets of her jeans, before producing an invitation. "Liz is gonna be there."

Ellie took the invite and glanced over it -- a black and red cat with a spiked collar decorated the front of it, while the back had all the information. She smiled -- she'd never really been invited to a party, minus the whole birthday party thing from elementary school. She looked back up at Ashley.

"Thanks," she said, "I'll definitely see if my parents can let me off the hook for this." She paused, "You don't think Jay would show up, do you?"

Ashley shrugged. "That's why I hope he hasn't heard about it," she said. "He'd come just for the sake of crashing it -- but don't worry," she grinned again, "I've got some friends that would have no problem chasing him off."

Ellie smiled again. "Thanks," she said once more. But she suddenly caught sight of the clock. "You should go -- if my parents came home and found I'd had a friend over, it'd be a total 'no' for your party."

Ashley laughed, giving her another hug, and moments later, Ellie was watching out her window as the brunette's car pulled away. Not five minutes after was her mother pulling into the driveway. Ellie quickly climbed back into bed -- wanting it to look like that's how she'd spent her whole day -- and she tried to think of a way to bring up the party.

---------------------------------------------

"So who's having this party?" Mrs. Nash asked, turning over the invitation again to look at the cartoony cat on it.

"Her name's Ashley...she doesn't go to St. Hilary's," Ellie added somewhat quietly.

As she knew it would, this made Mrs. Nash frown. The three of them were at the dinner table that night, and Ellie had said she'd found the invitation in the mail. Mr. Nash leaned over and took it from his wife, glancing down at it.

"I think it's a great idea," he said, "Especially because this girl doesn't go to Ellie's school." At Mrs. Nash's incredulous look, he explained, "It's great for Ell to be making friends _outside_ of St. Hilary's."

Mrs. Nash raised her eyebrows, before nodding slightly. "That actually makes sense," she said. "What time is it?"

"Saturday," Mr. Nash read off of the invite, "Three o'clock to whenever you want to leave. Then there's a 'no later than eleven' in parenthesis."

Ellie bit back a laugh at the way he'd read that off, and he gave her a fatherly wink, catching the humor in it. Mrs. Nash seemed to not even notice. She paused for a long thoughtful moment before shrugging.

"I guess your punishment can end then," she smiled, "It's fine by me if you go."

And for the moment, Ellie had forgotten completely about Jay -- she hadn't realized how badly she'd wanted off punishment until now. She couldn't wait to tell Ashley that she could go.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note**: So I sat down to plan out the rest of the story, and surprisingly, the story is coming to an end. All-in-all there are going to be fifteen chapters, including both the prologue and epilogue. Shortest chapter yet.

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**Linger**  
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**Ten.  
-**

After being granted permission to go to Ashley's party, the rest of the week went by pleasantly quickly for Ellie. When she'd returned to school on Tuesday, she'd briefly explained to Liz what had happened -- and thankfully, Liz had forgiven her for her stand-offish attitude.

"Maybe you should wear this."

Ellie glanced away from her mirror, lowering her brush to her side. Liz was currently standing at her closet, holding the black and red corset from Aunt Grace, and Ellie made a slight face. It was Saturday, and the two were waiting for Ashley to come pick them up -- Ellie'd just finished getting dressed, where a simple black dress (with her favorite boots of course).

"I _want_ to...just not now," she answered.

Liz smirked. "Why not?" She asked. "I'm positive you'd look great."

Ellie grinned, "Thank you," she said, "And I don't know -- just seems too fancy. I don't want to be overdressed."

Liz paused thoughtfully before shrugging and nodding. "Yeah, that's true," she said, before returning the corset to the closet. "Maybe for Halloween or something."

"That's a good idea, actually," Ellie said, somewhat surprised that she hadn't thought of it.

"Of course it is," Liz said cheekily, "_I _thought of it."

Ellie grinned, but suddenly her mother was calling for them -- Ashley'd arrived.

---------------------------------------------

"I'm so glad you guys could come," Ashley said as she pushed open the front door of her house.

People were already milling about in the living room -- two guys were playing video games on the couch, while music pumped loudly from speakers against the wall.

"You left all these people alone to come get us?" Ellie asked.

Ashley grinned. "I had my boyfriend watch the place," she said. "I want you guys to meet him, so wait right here and I'll go get him."

She disappeared down a short hallway, and Ellie glanced at Liz who shrugged, pulling her coat off to hang it by the door. Ellie chose to keep her's on however -- she just felt more comfortable with it on. She unzipped it though, crossing her arms over her chest and familiarizing herself with the house -- or at least, the foyer.

"You two lovely ladies must be Liz and Ellie," a male voice suddenly said.

They both looked up to find a guy their age of course, tall with dark brown hair, slightly wavy and hanging over his forehead almost wildly. He wore a leather jacket over a vintage rock tee shirt, and something about him just screamed 'rockstar!'. He had a nice smile though, one that Ellie just couldn't _not_ return.

"That's us," she answered as Liz nodded.

Liz pointed sideways at the redhead, "Ellie," she introduced, then pointed at herself, "Liz."

The boy pointed to himself, "Craig." He said brightly. "Ashley told me to come meet you guys -- she had to clean up...a little mess I may or may not have made."

The three of them shared a laugh, and Craig looked around before gesturing.

"I'm not too good with this host stuff," he said, "But I could give you guys a small tour of the Kerwin-Isaacs household, if you wanted."

"Sure," Ellie said, after a quick look at Liz to make sure she didn't mind. "Sounds great."

---------------------------------------------

When Craig had said "small tour", he'd meant _small_ tour. Ellie found that he became easily distracted by random things, but she also found that she didn't mind -- he seemed like a really cool guy, and she had to say she was more than a little glad to make another new friend outside of St. Hilary's.

About an hour into being there, she, Liz, Ashley and Craig were sitting in the kitchen, sharing a bag of chips and just talking. Apparently Craig was in a band, and Ashley was very musical herself -- Ellie had to admit that they seemed to make the perfect couple.

"So anyway," Ashley said randomly, "What are you guys doing for Halloween?"

Craig started to answer, but suddenly realized she hadn't been talking to him. He gave her a little grin and quieted, making Ellie smile before answering.

"I don't think I'm doing anything," she answered, looking to Liz.

"I'm pretty sure I have to babysit," she said, "Take my little cousin trick-or-treating or something."

"Well, Degrassi is having a little dance," Ashley said, "And I could get you both tickets for it."

Liz shook her head sadly. "Even if I was free," she said, "There's no way my father would let me go -- he almost didn't let me come here, but I lied and said your parents would be here." She gave a sheepish laugh.

Ashley grinned at her before looking to Ellie, who paused thoughtfully. She finally shrugged after a moment, and nodded.

"Yeah, sure," she said. "That actually sounds like it'd be pretty cool."

"Do you guys ever have dances at your school?" Craig asked, curiously.

Ellie snorted and Liz laughed, shaking her head.

"We have bake sales," Ellie answered. "And sometimes brownies can be as good as dances...sometimes."

"I'll totally get you a ticket then," Ashley said, sounding a little excited. She turned to Liz, "Are you sure you can't go?" She asked.

Liz nodded again. "Unfortunately."

Craig then declared that it was time for them to dwell on the present and not the future -- have fun while they still had the chance. Then he'd launched into an explanation of some weird game he and his younger half-sister had made up -- Ellie couldn't understand it for the life of her, though Ashley and Liz seemed to have no trouble with it.

Sometime later, Ellie found herself sitting on the bottom stair of Ashley's staircase, knees up and arms around them. Liz had disappeared to the bathroom, and Ellie had been feeling a little too crowded and claustrophobic in the living room -- the foyer of the large house wasn't nearly as packed with people.

And suddenly, someone sat down next to her with a sigh.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you."

She turned to find Sean, of all people, staring at his lap. She felt herself smirk, but also found that she was looking around quickly -- was Jay there? She'd been able to go the whole day without thinking about him -- there was no way she could face him now though.

"But you are..." She stated slowly.

He gave her a little grin, before nodding. "But I am," he repeated. "Jay's so pissed at you."

"Good," was all she said. Then she sheepishly averted her gaze and lowered her tone. "He isn't here...is he?"

Sean's grin returned and he shook his head. "Nope," he answered, "I don't think Ashley would've willingly let him in if he showed up anyway."

"Yeah, well, since when does Jay abide by rules, right?" Ellie asked.

Sean paused thoughtfully before nodding. "That's true," he answered. "So what's up? Why're you all...outcasted from the rest of the party?"

"Parties never really were my thing," she answered, "I like watching people at parties though -- how they interact with people and stuff."

She was slightly embarrassed to have admitted that to him -- it sounded so lame of her -- but Sean nodded as if it were perfectly normal.

"Hey, Jay isn't a fan of school functions, is he?" She asked.

Sean glanced at her with a furrowed brow, before shaking his head. "No," he answered, "Why? Are you gonna go to the Halloween dance or something?"

"I was thinking about it," Ellie said. "Just don't...want to run into him."

Sean nodded. "Know how that can be," he said, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I already have my ticket, but my ex is gonna be there. Wouldn't be pretty if I showed up."

"When did you two break up?" Ellie asked, remembering that he'd mentioned his girlfriend to Liz on the night they'd all met.

"Few days ago, actually," Sean answered. "We've always sorta been like this hot-cold couple." Ellie was nodding, but before she could speak, Sean continued. "Then again -- that's what high school's all about, isn't it? Getting together, breaking up -- and homework of course."

She grinned. "Basically," she said, "I don't know why movies always try and make it look more glamorous."

He mirrored her grin, and a small silence fell upon them. She sighed, looking down at her shoes, and she spoke before she could stop herself.

"Well, this girl doesn't know what she's missing out on," she said, "Sounds like you two breaking up is _her_ loss."

Sean didn't respond, and when she dared a glance at him, he smiled at her. Maybe in a different time and place Ellie could've found herself attracted to him -- he definitely had a winning personality.

"Thanks," he said, "I could say the same to you about Jay -- his loss."

Ellie flushed just slightly, but she was getting better with holding back her embarrassment and shyness. Or so she thought. She cleared her throat at the awkwardness that had settled over them, and she fidgeted with her jacket sleeves.

"Speaking of," she said, "You aren't going to tell Jay that we spoke, are you?"

"Are you crazy?" Sean asked jokingly, "You think I have a death wish?"

Ellie laughed, but Liz had returned and though Sean probably didn't like the blonde in _that_ way, the two just clicked -- kind of the way Ellie and Ashley had clicked -- and Liz and he seemed to pick up their same conversation from that first night of meeting.

Ellie was trapped in her own thoughts though. She'd been feeling light and airy that day, because she hadn't thought of Jay. She was just glad he wouldn't find out she was going to the dance -- no way would Ashley tell him, and there could be no way he could guess who the extra ticket was for, and Sean apparently wasn't going to tell Jay.

Ellie had to admit, if only to herself, that she was a little worried. She couldn't imagine Jay just going down without a fight -- she might've made a mistake in wrecking his car -- and she didn't want to see what kind of tricks he had up his sleeve.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note**: Thanks guys, it means so much to me. :) I hope I'm not updating this story too fast -- I've jus gotten a huge burst of inspiration for it, haha.

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**Linger**  
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**Eleven.  
-**

Ellie looked slowly between her parents, who were both seated on the couch in the living room of the Nash household. It was Wednesday evening, and that day Ashley had met up with her after school to give her her ticket to the Halloween dance, which was taking place on Friday night. Her father was holding this ticket now, and he and Mrs. Nash had just spent a little while discussing whether or not Ellie could go. Mrs. Nash seemed a little wary -- but Ellie still had a small spark of hope.

"It _is_ good to be making so many friends," her mother finally said slowly.

Mr. Nash smiled, and Ellie knew she had the green light. She was smiling widely before he'd even opened his mouth.

"It's a great idea, Ell," he said, holding the ticket out to her again. "Will you need a ride?"

Ellie shook her head, passing the dance ticket between her hands excitedly. "Ashley said she could pick me up and bring me home," she answered.

Her parents nodded, both of them murmuring what a good idea that was, and Ellie quickly leaned down to hug them both. She thanked them a few times, before all but running up to her bedroom -- first to call Ashley, and then Liz. It was silly how excited she was about this dance, but she couldn't help herself.

---------------------------------------------

"I _knew_ you'd look awesome."

Ellie turned sideways as she looked at her reflection in her tall mirror, running one of her hands down the skirt she was wearing. It'd been one of Ashley's, and she'd lent it to Ellie for the dance. It was black with a few different types of material -- lace, frills, fishnet -- and it barely reached her knees. She'd put the corset from her aunt on as well, which fit surprisingly well, and topped it off with a pair of dark red fishnet stockings she'd found on clearance at some low-budget store.

She turned to Liz, who was standing in the doorway with a box in her hands. The blonde had come over to help Ellie get ready, as Liz didn't have to be at her cousin's house until sometime later.

"You think so?" Ellie asked, "I'm not sure about this skirt."

Liz rolled her eyes, nearing her friend. "It looks great," she said, "Very...vampiric -- if that's what you were going for."

Ellie smiled, looking back at herself, and turning -- attempting to see what her backside looked like. She wasn't used to skirts this short. "I was thinking either vampire or witch of sorts," Ellie said. "Then again, I guess it doesn't matter."

Liz gave a little laugh, before she set her box on the chair at Ellie's desk. "Now to complete it with the shoes," she said, pulling a pair of knee-high black boots from the long box. "A friend of my sister's gave them to her, but our mom _never_ lets her wear them -- I'm sure you'd get more use out of them."

"Your sister won't be mad that I wore them?" Ellie asked, brow furrowing just slightly.

Liz shook her head, holding the shoes out. "She probably won't even notice they're gone," she answered. "You could even end up keeping them if you like them."

Ellie quickly slipped the boots on, and they weren't a _perfect_ fit -- a little too big on her -- but they'd make do. She laced them up, thankful that the heel on them weren't too big, and she looked at herself in the mirror again. She'd already done her make-up -- just some black eyeliner, but more than she normally would wear.

"What should I do with my hair?" She asked.

"Oh, you could let me do it," Liz said, excitedly.

Around fifteen minutes later, Ellie was standing up from her desk chair, where she'd been sitting to let Liz play with her like a Barbie doll, and she returned to the mirror. Her hair was now teased in a few different ways -- crimped slightly from the weird device Liz had brought with her, a few small braids here and there, and even some wavy curls. It was weird, but all-around it presented a rather cool effect. Ellie was somewhat surprised at how nice it looked.

"Wow," she said.

"I'm a genius," Liz said, pretending to wipe a tear away.

Ellie grinned, but Liz was already grabbing her bag of goodies, and looking at her watch.

"I have to get going now," she said, "You're gonna be a hit at the dance, girl. A billion and one guys are gonna be asking for your number, you know that right?"

"Are there even a billion and one guys in this town?" Ellie asked, playfully.

Liz stuck her tongue out at her before she disappeared out of the room and down the hall. Ellie watched her leave from the window, before going to her desk to wait for Ashley to arrive. She was feeling suddenly very nervous -- who wouldn't be? A big dance at a school full of people she didn't know.

She was mostly scared because she had a feeling Jay would arrive. It was kind of a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach -- she wasn't sure if it was from her _not_ wanting Jay to come, or from her actually wanting to see him again. She had to mentally curse herself for being so stupid.

---------------------------------------------

Ashley had dressed up as a somewhat twisted version of Little Red Riding Hood -- slashes in her clothes, and fake blood to boot -- and Craig was apparently the Wolf of the story. It was cute the way they'd tried to split a costume idea, but Craig's wolf-costume seemed _really_ uncomfortable, and all the way to the dance, as Ellie sat in the back of Ashley's car, he wouldn't stop complaining about how itchy it was.

"Craig, you still have time to change, if you want," Ashley said. "It's not like you _have_ to dress-up for this thing."

"No, no," Craig said quickly, "No, it's fine -- I like it."

And yet before they'd made it to the front doors of Degrassi Community School, Craig had already made three more comments about the discomfort he was in. He was walking ahead of them by a few steps, and as he made these comments, Ashley would roll her eyes at Ellie or make a few faces at his back.

Ellie tried not to look too dumb as they entered, but she found herself looking around the large school in almost awe -- St. Hilary's was big, yes, but it was big and almost like a castle. Degrassi was modern and..._hip_ even -- what Ellie wouldn't give to go there instead of her private school -- then again, St. Hilary's didn't have Jay. That was a definite perk.

Ten minutes into entering the decorated gymnasium, Ashley and Craig had made it there duty to introduce Ellie to _everyone_ they knew -- including their Media Immersion teacher, Mr. Simpson, who was DJing the dance. Ellie liked him though -- he was cool, in his own nerdy way, and she wished she had a teacher like him. Ashley ended up pointing out a blonde girl, who was dressed in a black cat suit, and both she and Craig mentioned that Ellie might want to stay away from her -- they called her Paige.

The three of them trekked to the refreshments table, and Ellie stole some time to look around. She was getting looks from many of the other students -- mostly looks of curiosity, but some of interest. She tried to calm herself by thinking that hey, at least Jay wasn't there. But at Ashley's exasperated, "Oh God," that calming thought was ripped away from Ellie.

"What?" She asked, already knowing the answer, as she spun from the punch bowl.

Ashley looked at Craig, then at Ellie before gesturing with a nod of her head. "Prince Charming," she said dryly, with a hint of annoyance.

Ellie and Craig followed Ashley's gaze to find that Jay and Sean had just entered the gym -- two more boys were behind them, but Ellie obviously didn't know them. Sean's idea of dressing up had been to get one of those black shirts, long sleeved, with a skeleton design on it, while Jay had gone one step below and gotten a simple hockey mask, not wearing it over his face of course, but wearing it on the top of his head. The rest of his clothes were what he wore any old day.

"He won't come over here," Craig suddenly said, glancing at Ellie as if to reassure her.

"Yeah," Ashley said, "Me and Craig will...do something."

Ellie had to grin, and she shook her head. "It's okay," she said, "I don't care."

She was lying, that was for sure, but Ashley and Craig both seemed to buy it. Ashley suddenly grabbed both of their arms, and started leading them away from the table.

"Come on," she said, "Let's go sit down while there are seats still available."

After a while, Craig and Ashley made it easier for Ellie to relax, and she soon found she was enjoying herself -- even when the two of them pulled her to the dance floor during one of their guilty pleasure songs -- a poppy-dance hit that all three of them knew all the words to. But when a slow song started, Ellie knew that she had to sit that one out -- despite the way Ashley tried to get her to stay with them. She decided to go back to the refreshments table and cool off with some punch.

As she was leaving, Craig had pulled Ashley into his arms in a playfully rough way, and Ellie had to smile again -- some people may have been annoyed at playing third wheel to the couple, but Ellie kind of liked it. She liked watching the way they interacted with each other, and it was obvious how close they were.

She was a few feet away from the long food and drink table when she paused, mid-step. Sean was busy getting himself something to drink, and Ellie almost turned right around, fearing that Jay would be with him. But a quick look-around told her that Jay was nowhere near them, and she slowly neared the other boy.

"Hi," she said, helping herself to some juice.

He glanced at her, giving her a little smile. "Hey," he said, before it faltered. "Sorry about..._him_ coming."

She grinned. "Don't be," she said, "It's a free country -- and I've done good avoiding him so far. Why _did _he come though? You said he didn't really like school stuff like this."

Sean shrugged, but his expression gave away that he had an answer. "He might've heard...from me, that you were gonna be here." He said. "Purely accidental, though, I swear."

Ellie smiled again, before throwing her arms out at her sides. "It's okay," she said. "I'm not mad."

"He will be," Sean said, looking around. "He's always telling me not to talk to you -- as if he's afraid you're gonna try and steal me from him or something."

Ellie rolled her eyes before tossing her empty paper cup into the trash can next to the table. "Maybe I am," she said, before grabbing Sean's arm. "Dance with me."

She didn't know who was more surprised, him or her. She couldn't believe she'd just asked that -- no, she hadn't even asked, she'd _demanded_ that he dance with her. But he didn't argue, and in a moment the two of them had ended up on the dance floor.

"This is weird," Sean said suddenly.

Ellie nodded -- the way they were holding each other -- her hands on his shoulders, his on her waist -- was just strange. It wasn't uncomfortable in the, 'Oh-my-God-get-off-of-me' way, more along the lines of, 'We-aren't-supposed-to-do-this' way. It didn't feel with Sean the way it would have with Jay, as bad as that sounded.

"Definitely," Ellie said after a moment. "Thank you though -- I just...wanted to dance."

He smiled. "I understand -- even though I don't like it," he said. "You girls and your crazy wants."

Ellie grinned, but before she could respond, her gaze had fallen upon someone who stood off to the side of the gym -- leaning against a wall with his arms crossed was Mr. Jay Hogart himself, and he was watching them the way a tiger watches prey. She quickly looked down, trying to spin her and Sean so that she wouldn't have to see him, and Sean felt the way her body tensed.

"He saw us, didn't he?" He asked.

"Oh yeah," Ellie said, sounding a little nervous.

"He's gonna kill me," Sean said, but surprisingly, he didn't abruptly stop or anything -- he kept dancing with her.

"Sorry about that," Ellie said. "I'll speak at your funeral."

Sean laughed, but the two fell silent again. This was the moment where couples had started kissing each other -- Ashley and Craig seemed to be near inseparable, and that Paige-girl was literally sucking the face off of her boy toy. Ellie awkwardly looked back at Sean, who had been looking at something over her shoulder. Ellie threw a quick glance behind her to see a different blonde dancing with someone -- she was skinny, petite even, and she had been watching Sean as he watched her.

"That's her?" Ellie asked, turning back to him. "Your ex?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he answered. "I don't even know that kid she's with -- I think she's doing it just to spite me."

"She probably thinks you're dancing with me to spite her," Ellie said.

Sean smirked. "You're probably right," he said.

"Have you tried to make up with her?" Ellie questioned, and at Sean's shake of his head, she added, "You should."

"Why?" Sean asked. "Are you trying to make up with Jay?"

"Oh, touché," Ellie said.

"You look good tonight, by the way," Sean suddenly mumbled -- the most awkward thing of the night.

Ellie tried not to let her girly-side get to her, but she flushed, grining widely. "Thank you," she said. "I couldn't do this every day though -- too much work."

"It's hard being pretty," Sean said playfully, making her roll her eyes.

She looked up again, trying to see if Jay was still watching them, and sure enough -- he was. She swallowed hard as their gazes locked, and she forced herself not to look away. Strangely, she won their little stare-off, and Jay pushed himself away from his wall to walk away, off towards the exit.

This should have relaxed Ellie, but for some reason, it didn't.

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Ellie had been worn out from the dance -- she guessed it was because it'd been her first dance, or maybe she'd already been tired before she left -- but the minute she'd gotten home, she'd crashed. However, she was woken up from her dreams of twisted Red Riding Hoods and boys with their skeletons showing, as her dad shook her lightly.

"Ellie?"

She opened her eyes, looking to her clock. Three in the morning? What was going on?

"Dad?" She asked, groggily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing too serious," Mr. Nash answered, "But you need to come with me."

She got out of bed, confused and worried about her dad -- he'd apparently been sleeping too, as he was still in his PJs. She reached for the lamp on her bedside table, but her dad told her to leave it off. Then, grabbing her arm lightly, he led her from her room and down the hallway.

This was so weird that she assumed she must be dreaming. It got even weirder though as Mr. Nash handed her her jacket, and took her to the back door of their house -- he did all this without turning on a single light. He was carrying a flashlight though.

"Dad, what are you doing?" She asked him, as he led her out into their backyard.

He shushed her, and just told her again in a quiet tone that she needed to come with him. He led her around the side of their house, but he slowed to a stop before they reached her front yard. He leaned against their house, turning to her.

"Look around there," he said, gesturing with one of his hands.

With a furrowed brow and cold feet -- as she'd forgotten to grab her slippers -- she leaned around the side of the house and almost gasped. There was someone messing around in her front yard!

Her fear quickly evaporated though, as she recognized the white mask on top of that someone's head -- Jay was so careless that he wasn't even in disguise or anything. He was currently in the process of throwing rolls of toilet paper up into their trees, in their bushes, all over their yard. She was about to stomp out there and give him a piece of her mind when her father pulled her back.

"Please tell me that's him," Mr. Nash said, "Holding a grudge because of what you did to his car."

Ellie had to smirk, and she nodded. "Yeah, Dad, that's him, alright," she whispered. "Hey, do you still have that shotgun Uncle Bobby gave you for Christmas two years ago?"

Mr. Nash suppressed a chuckle, tousling Ellie's hair like she were a small child, but he didn't answer. Instead he pulled out his cell phone, and Ellie watched as he dialed 9-1-1. She was sure the police had their hands full tonight, what with it being Halloween and all. Mr. Nash gestured for her to stay where she was as he walked off towards the backyard again to talk to the police.

She leaned around the house again, this time to see Jay hurl an egg at the front door. She was angry, of course, but her anger was replaced with hilarity -- Jay's little game of revenge was just a little on the immature side.

"What does he hope to accomplish with this?" Mr. Nash had returned, pocketing his phone, and Ellie shrugged.

"I've got no clue, Dad," she answered. "Isn't this like...a third grade prank?"

"I've already told your mother not to turn on any of the lights," Mr. Nash said, "As long as he thinks he's in the clear, he'll take his good ol' time. Long enough for the police to arrive." There was a devious sense of mirth in her father's voice, and Ellie had to assume that along with dry sarcasm, she'd inherited that from him as well.

It didn't take long for the police to arrive, and by the time Jay realized what was going on, there was nowhere for him to go. Ellie was practically cackling with glee as she and her father revealed their hiding spot, walking out towards the cops who were holding him -- one on either side, grasping his arms. It was minor vandalism, and because Mr. Nash said that he knew the boy, Jay wouldn't be getting into as much trouble as he might have.

Mr. Nash then said that he wouldn't press charges of any sort, as long as Jay returned the next day to clean up his mess. Jay looked about ready to throw a hissy fit about this, but then he caught sight of Ellie's smug look, and his own smirk appeared. As the police were pulling him away towards one of their cars, where they'd take him home and explain to his parents what had happened, Jay still grinned at her.

"It would seem you've got me again, Ginger," he said.

Ellie shook her head as he was loaded into one of the cars, and she looked up at her dad. "Do you really think he's going to come back to clean up his mess?" She asked.

His expression was unreadable for a moment, before he nodded. "Actually, yes," he said. "He'll probably only come so he can be close to you -- he's still got it bad."

Ellie was stunned into a moment of silence as Mr. Nash turned and started back towards their house -- had her father really just said that? Did Mr. Nash _really_ believe that? And if so, why weren't he hopping mad about the whole thing?

Ellie shook her head again. "This is just too weird for me," she said to herself, "I wish this _was _a dream."


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note**: I should've warned you guys ahead of time that the ending of this story is going to get _real_ cheesy, starting with this chapter, haha. It could just be me, but I sometimes like a good cheesy ending -- anyway, I hope you all still enjoy it on some level. Two more small chapters after this one. :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

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**Linger**  
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**Twelve.  
-**

Ellie woke late the next day, and remembering the events of the wee hours of the morning, she went to her window. The toilet paper still littered her yard, and she didn't see Jay working hard to get rid of it -- she didn't see him at all, of course. She shook her head -- who was her father kidding? Jay Hogart come and _clean_ something? And she thought she'd been dumb when it came to him.

She went to the bathroom, running a brush through her hair, and brushing her teeth -- she hated the taste of morning breath, if she'd had a list of things she hated, that would be near the top. As she climbed down the stairs, she could see her mother sitting on the couch, watching TV and sipping at a mug -- probably full of hot tea. Ellie gave her a sleepy wave, passing her to go towards the kitchen -- she could hear her dad messing around in there, and she swung around the door way, opening her mouth to cheerfully wish him a good morning.

And she almost had a heart attack.

Jay was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking what she'd assume to be coffee, as her father stood next to the fridge, making himself a cup. Jay's face immediately broke into a grin, but he didn't say anything as he hid his face behind his cup. Mr. Nash didn't seem to notice Ellie's surprise, despite the way her mouth hung open and her eyes gave off the impression of a deer in the headlights.

"Oh, Ellie," he said brightly, "Was wondering when you were gonna wake up."

"Uh...hi, Dad," she said slowly, feeling embarrassed by what she wore, even if it was better than the nightgown Jay had seen -- pajama bottoms and a tee shirt. "Jay -- you actually came."

"Of course," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Dad, please tell me you didn't pull out the baby pictures," Ellie said randomly.

"No," Mr. Nash said, "Your mother wanted to -- I had to stop her."

"Don't see why," Jay said, "I'd have loved to see 'em."

Mr. Nash gave Jay a smile, but it was a smile that said, 'If-you-hurt-my-daughter-I'll-tear-you-limb-from-limb', and he started towards the doorway Ellie was leaning in.

"Anyway," Mr. Nash said, "Jay came over, as he'd said, to clean up our yard, and I decided to let him wake up first -- though, God knows why..." He gave Jay a glare of sorts for good measure, before stepping out of the kitchen. "He's going to be getting to work as soon as he's done that cup of coffee."

Jay was nodding enthusiastically, and Mr. Nash shook his head to himself before disappearing off to the living room. Ellie took a deep breath, before looking at Jay as if he were a tiger that'd escaped from the zoo. She slowly skirted around him to go to the fridge.

"So," he said suddenly, "You and Sean."

"Shut up, Jay," she said, pulling out a can of soda. "It might've been you and me if you weren't such an asshole."

"I don't know whether or not I should be offended," Jay said, "Because I'm too busy thinking about how sexy you sound when you curse."

Ellie flushed, before spinning to him. "Ugh," she gave a throaty noise, "Can't you be civil for two minutes? I don't understand why I can't hate you."

He shrugged, grinning his shark's grin. "No girl can hate me, babe," he said, "It's humanly impossible."

She shook her head at him, before walking quickly from the kitchen. She could _not_ deal with him this early in the morning -- especially not when she'd almost admitted to him that she still liked him.

---------------------------------------------

Ellie came back downstairs about fifteen minutes later -- fully dressed in jeans and a band tee -- and it was in time to see Jay pulling his jacket on as he slipped outside. Mr. Nash nodded to the door when it closed.

"Little smart ass told me he'd do the best job imaginable," he said, "I expect the yard might come out looking worse than now."

Ellie grinned. "I could supervise if you want," she said, "Order him around so he _does_ do the best job."

Mr. Nash smirked. "Want the shotgun?"

Ellie was still grinning at his joke as she stepped outside, pulling on her own jacket. The sun had risen slightly, and she could already tell it was going to be beautiful day -- she loved Fall. Jay turned to her as she stepped outside, but as if seeing it was only her, turned away uninterestedly. She sat down on the front stoop, bringing her knees up to her chest, and watched as he started to pick up lines and bits of toilet paper to shove into a trash bag he had with him.

"Daddy send you out here?" He asked.

"No," she answered truthfully. "I offered, as crazy as that sounds."

He threw a grin over his shoulder at her. "I know I'm irresistible," he said.

"More like pathetic," she responded, without missing a beat.

He shrugged his shoulders and got back to work, and she watched, faintly amused, but with her mind on other things. She wanted to be more angry at him for what he'd done to her, but she couldn't find it in her to be. He was a liar, a cheat, a nasty player -- and she still liked him.

"Huh," Jay said suddenly, a thoughtful expression.

She watched his back for a moment before sighing. "What?" She asked.

When he glanced at her, there was no smugness in his expression -- it was unreadable, which was a surprise for her. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Those are the jeans you wore on our first date," he said.

She looked down as if she didn't believe him, and sure enough -- he was right. She looked back up at him, but he'd started cleaning again.

"If only I'd known what you'd do to me then," she said, trying to sound cold and unsure of whether or not it worked.

"What I'd do to you?" He asked, turning to her. "Shit, Ginger, if I'd have known you were going to trash my fuckin' car, I would've never let you ride in it in the first place."

"If I'd known you'd liked your car more than me, I would've never wanted to ride in it anyway," she snapped.

His irritation faded so fast that Ellie, again, was surprised. He visibly swallowed, giving a snort.

"I don't like my car more than you," he said.

She studied him for a moment, unable to tell if that was real sincerity in his eyes, and she struggled to think of something to say. Instead, she gave up and looked down.

"You're gonna have to get a ladder or something," she said, "For all that TP in the trees."

He said nothing, before sighing and turning to go back to what he was doing. They were silent for a long time, and Ellie caught him look at her every now and then out of the corner of her eye. Finally, he broke the silence again.

"So -- you and Sean," he said again, "How long have you liked him?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I don't," she said angrily. "Even if I did, it's not like it would amount to anything." She grabbed the railing and pulled herself to her feet. "He's still hung up on his girlfriend...pretty much the way I'm still hung up on you."

And before he could say anything, she turned and went back inside, making sure to slam the door.

---------------------------------------------

The first week of November seemed to practically fly by, and it was Thursday when Ellie received the surprise of a lifetime. She had yet again, missed her bus, and was getting ready to walk home -- zipping up her jacket, shifting her bag on her shoulders. Liz had left early because of a doctor's appointment, and Ellie didn't even have her to say 'bye' too -- not to mention, it looked like it would be another rainy day.

Suddenly Ashley's car pulled to rough halt in front of her, and the brunette climbed out of it, smiling. Craig was in the passenger seat, and he gave Ellie a little wave, which she returned somewhat confused.

"Hey, Ash," she said. "What's up? You look like Christmas came early."

Ashley laughed, and shook her head. "No, not for me at least," she said. "You know how much I loathe Jay, right?"

Ellie's brow furrowed. "Yes..." she said slowly, "What does that have to do --?"

"There is something that you've _got_ to see," Ashley said, opening the back door of her car.

Still confused, Ellie climbed into the backseat of the small car, greeting Craig unsurely. As Ashley climbed back in and started to put on her seat belt, Ellie pulled her bag off of her shoulders and dropped it to the floor.

"Is it safe to say I'm just a little confused?" Ellie asked.

"Don't worry, Ellie," Craig said, "I am too. Ashley's being weird."

In the rear-view mirror, Ellie saw Ashley roll her eyes. Seconds later they were going down the road, in the direction of Degrassi Community School, Ellie managed to guess.

"Ashley, I really don't know what this is," Ellie said. "Is Jay hurt or something? I could see you this happy over something like that."

"No, I wish," Ashley said. "But just trust me, okay? Right Craig?"

"Right-o," he said, pumping a fist out, but passing Ellie an 'I-Don't-Know-What's-Going-On' look.

Minutes later they were pulling up to the school, as Ellie had assumed, and as they climbed out of the car, she caught sight of a crowd of people gathering around something. Ashley grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards said crowd, with Craig following behind them. As they got closer, Ellie realized that the crowd was in a half-circle around a picnic table that Jay Hogart himself was standing on.

Ashley finally let Ellie stop, and the redhead almost wanted to run away -- Degrassi was a lot weirder than she'd initially thought.

"Just so you know," Sean had magically appeared out of nowhere beside her. He looked skeptical, and he shook his head at Jay as if he were bemused by the other boy, "He's doing this for you."

"Doing what?" Ellie asked.

"Showing everyone what a dumbass he is," Sean said with a smirk. "A.k.a. publicly apologizing to you."

She looked back towards the table, where some guy was trying to pull Jay off of the table. She heard the guy say something along the lines of, "Come on, man, get down".

"Yeah, dude," a different boy said, "You're making an ass out of yourself."

Jay shook his head at them, waving them off with his hands, and he looked around at the crowd of people. His eyes didn't land on Ellie, so she was unsure of whether or not he knew she was there. Then again, how hard would it be to spot out a redhead in a St. Hilary's uniform.

"Listen up, guys," Jay said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I have a little lesson for you all. You see," he ignored the jokes from a few rowdy guys and continued, "There comes a time in every guy's life -- yes, even a bad boy like myself -- when you manage to find _that_ girl. You know, that one special girl --"

"The one with the hottest ass?" A guy all but cheered in question.

"Yes!" Jay said, pointing at the guy, "Yes, and this girl does have a very hot ass -- the hottest. But what I was gonna say was 'that one special girl that you want to _be_ with'. Not just feel her up in the back of your car -- no matter how cool your car may be -- and pass her off to your friends, but a girl you want to _keep_. Treat her nice...or something, all that stuff. And there comes a time when you might have to change who you are in order to keep this girl."

There was a mixed reaction in the crowd -- some seemed to agree with him, while others shook their heads. Ellie was almost pleased to see that Sean was nodding beside her. But suddenly she froze up as Jay caught sight of her and grinned. He pointed at her.

"There she is," he said, "Miss Eleanor Nash, the girl with _the_ hottest ass -- the girl I want to keep."

Ellie felt heat rush to her face faster than the speed of light, and her embarrassment was only tripled as everyone turned to look at her. She saw Sean grinning beside her, and for a brief moment, she wanted to reach over and clock him a good one.

"Ellie," Jay started to continue his little speech, and she looked up at him, "I hate to apologize, I hate that damn 's' word more than you could ever imagine, but I'm i sorry /i . I'm sorry I lied, cheated -- egged your house."

A laugh went through the crowd as he nonchalantly added the last bit, and he grinned as though he'd made the best joke of the century. Then he turned back to her.

"I want to be with you, I'll change whatever I have to," he said. "But you can't expect it to happen over night, I mean damn. I'm no white pony or golden knight -- I'm a teenage dirtbag guy, I like sex, I like drinking. Plus I'm an asshole. It's just who I am." He shrugged his shoulders. "If you're willing to be patient though, I'm willing to try and turn over a new leaf. You just have to give me time."

He grinned again, and pointed, this time at Sean. "And I'm sorry for subjecting you to dancing with that loser at the Halloween gig." He said.

More people laughed, but then a silence fell over the small crowd, and Ellie once more noticed that they were all staring at her. It was as if they all were apologizing to her and waiting for her response.

"What d'ya say, Ginger?" Jay asked, grinning because he knew how embarrassed she was. "Forgive me?"

Ellie looked at all the people watching her, before she side-glanced Sean, who raised his eyebrows at her. "If I make up with Jay," she said in a whisper, "Will you make up with your ex?"

He smirked, looking away with a thoughtful expression, and after a moment he gave a nod. "Sure," he answered.

Ellie then turned to Ashley, who was smiling. Ashley shrugged as if to say, 'I don't like the guy, but whatever makes you happy', and Craig pretended to be sleeping, as if this were the most boring thing he'd witnessed all day. Ellie finally turned back to Jay (and the crowd), and she shrugged, giving a small smile.

"I guess so," she said, nodding. "Yes. I forgive you, Jay."

Still grinning, he hopped down from the table and neared her. "Good," he said, sliding through people. "Because if you were still mad at me and holding a grudge, I would've looked like a major idiot in front of all these people."

She started to laugh, but he'd reached her and pulled her into a kiss. It suddenly felt like it'd been a hundred years since Ellie had felt his lips on hers, and she couldn't help but melt in his arms. He broke away from her after only a second however, and put on a mock-serious face.

"I'm still a little miffed about my car, I can't forgive you for that," he said, "We'll have to work out some sort of payment plan."

She rolled her eyes, before she grabbed the front of his tee shirt and pulled him back down for a kiss. A few of the guys in the crowd whistled and gave cat calls, but Ashley had taken it upon herself to make everyone applaud Jay's apology. Ellie would've probably strangled the girl, where she not being held so tightly by him however.

Everyone made mistakes, she supposed, and it _was_ time for her to forgive him.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Note**: This is just a short chapter to show the progress of their relationship, this is like Epilogue A, while the one after this is like Epilogue B, really.

---------------------------------------------  
**Linger**  
---------------------------------------------

**Thirteen.  
-**

The days got colder as November faded into December, bringing frigid winds and flurries of snow. Ellie normally hated winter, but it hadn't been so bad after Jay had started coming over to her place more and more often. Ever since his public apology he'd done as promised -- instead of going to party at the ravine, he would randomly pop up on Ellie's doorstep with a DVD from the rental store, and his crocodile grin. One habit he was still having trouble with was shop-lifting, but Ellie had to admit that she didn't really see that as a problem.

Ellie's parents had grown very accepting of him, which came as a complete shock to her -- and her father seemed to even develop a small fondness of Jay, as if Jay were his son. It wasn't rare for them to invite him over to dinner -- or for him to invite himself -- and many nights were spent with him cracking jokes at the kitchen table, causing Mrs. Nash's face to turn red with laughter, and Mr. Nash to almost choke on his drink.

In fact, they liked him so much, that they didn't mind leaving him home alone with their daughter on Christmas Eve. Mrs. Nash's boss had thrown some Christmas party, and both of Ellie's parents had went -- her dad in an exceptionally cheerful mood because of the eggnog he'd been drinking all day. Now Ellie found herself standing in front of their decorated tree, hands on her hips as Jay made noises in the kitchen -- he was making something.

A short amount of time passed and as she'd been looking at her reflection in one of the mirrored ornaments on the tree, she saw Jay come up behind her. He was holding two large cups, and he held one out to her.

"What is it?" She asked, taking it.

"Piña Colada," Jay said, "Or an attempted one at least."

"Isn't this like a summer drink?" Ellie asked, looking down at the light-colored drink. She'd never tried one before.

"Just try it," Jay said, before taking a drink of his own. At her look, he sheepishly grinned and added, "Don't worry, it's a non-alcoholic Piña Colada -- I couldn't find your parents' stash."

She laughed at him before raising the cup to her lips and sipping gingerly at it. She made a face and held it out.

"Oh God, it's horrible," she said, "What did you put in it?"

Jay shrugged. "Well, apparently you guys don't have any pineapple juice, so I just used more soda water to make up for it," He said.

"Oh God," she repeated. She laughed, "Jay, this is so..._bland_."

He rolled his eyes and took it back from her. "Well if you don't like it," he said, "More for me. Just wish I could've found the rum for it. Or vodka, turn it into a Chi Chi."

"Is that the real name for it?" Ellie asked, "When you switch rum with vodka it's called a Chi Chi?"

He nodded, taking another big gulp of his drink, and he turned around to go back to the kitchen. Ellie grinned, shaking her head, mostly to herself, and she walked towards the couch. Instead of sitting down on it, she laid on the floor in front of it, on her side. She'd grabbed the remote, and now turned on the television -- she was in the mood for a cheesy Christmas flick, and thankfully she found one with no trouble.

As she was trying to figure out the name of the main character, Jay came back, drinkless, with a wet mark on the front of his shirt -- he'd apparently been trying to hurry up and finish his drinks, and had spilled some in his haste. He sighed as he dropped to the floor in front of her, choosing to sit up and lean his back against her hips.

"What's this?" He asked, not bothering to hide the repulsion in his voice at the black-and-white movie on the screen.

"I don't know," Ellie answered, "Looks good so far though."

Jay side-glanced her, raising his eyebrow. "I hate to say this babe, but you got shitty taste in movies."

She laughed and playfully smacked his back, before reaching up and combing her fingers through the short hair at the nape of Jay's neck. She received the desired effect as he flinched and ducked slightly, giving a little laugh.

"You really shouldn't do that to me," he said.

"Why not?" She asked, mock-innocently.

He suddenly turned, and with surprising speed managed to roll Ellie onto her back. He grinned, pinning her arms above her head easily. "Because it makes me wanna do things I'm not allowed," he said in a low tone, before pressing his lips to hers.

Ellie returned the kiss completely, smiling into it, and when he pulled back slightly, she smiled.

"Who says you aren't allowed?" She asked softly.

His eyes widened just slightly, and she swallowed back her nervousness. She and Jay had yet to do anything but kiss, and though some might've considered it a little early to take the relationship further, she didn't.

"Are you serious?" He asked her.

She laughed. "No, Jay," she said, sarcastically, "I'm just playing with you like the other thirty times I've hinted at us having sex on the floor of my living room."

He laughed, and glanced at the clock. "Your parents..."

"Won't be home until after midnight," Ellie said. "That gives us at least four hours -- and you may be a super stud, but I doubt even you can last that long."

"Wow," he said, "When I first met you, I never would've imagined you telling me I don't have stamina in the bedroom."

She laughed. "Stop ruining the moment with your sarcastic word vomit," she said, "Kiss me."

"Yes ma'am."

Their lips connected again, and as they started to kiss, heads cocking and slanting in ways so as to deepen it as much as they could, Jay climbed completely on top of her. Jay glanced briefly at the clock, before sitting up and grabbing at the bottom of his tee shirt. He raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

She studied him for a moment, before nodding and smiling. "Yeah," she answered. "Yes, I'm sure."

He smiled -- not a shark's grin, not a smug smirk, a genuine happy smile -- and he started to pull of his shirt.

---------------------------------------------

It'd hurt more than Ellie thought it would, but Jay had helped her through it. Pausing, waiting for her to say it was okay, and then going slow and gentle. He'd kept his cheek against hers most of the time, occasionally kissing her ear, or saying stuff -- telling her he was sorry, or that it'd get better -- in low tones that rumbled from his chest.

And he'd been right -- it _had_ gotten better. And though Ellie was still in pain when they'd finished, she felt like the happiest and luckiest girl on the face of the earth.

"You okay?"

The two had started to dress, Jay was bending to grab his shirt while Ellie had just pulled hers on. She nodded at his question, trying to keep her knees from shaking from the experience, but not wanting to sit down just yet. He pulled on his shirt, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly.

"I'm fine," she said to him. "Really good actually."

He smiled down at her. "You know, Ginger," he said, making her smile, "I think I feel something for you."

"Well," she said, "I am _that one girl_. You know -- that one with the hottest ass?"

He made a noise of agreement in his throat, trademark smirk returning, and he reached around to smack playfully at her backside. She flinched in his arms, before laughing and pulling herself out of his grasp.

"Do you think your parents would let you leave to go somewhere?" Jay randomly asked.

Ellie raised her eyebrows as she sat down on the couch, thankful to have somewhere to rest. Her thighs were sore, and she had to sit in just the right way so that the rest of her body wouldn't be -- she couldn't think of going anywhere at this time.

"Like where?" She asked.

"Party at the ravine," Jay answered, before swatting the air and laughing. "Just kidding -- Sean's hanging out at Emma's with her family, thought it would be fun."

"What is it with you and crashing others' plans?" Ellie asked, smirking. Then she sighed. "Can't we just sit here and watch this movie or something?"

"Or something," Jay said, sitting down beside her. "I could go for a round two -- that's how good my stamina is."

She shook her head. "You're lying."

"Yeah, well..." He said with a shrug. Then he grabbed her hand and linked their fingers. "You're getting better at spotting my lies, you know."

"And you're getting better at _not_ lying," she said.

He laughed and nudged her shoulder with his, before the two settled back against the couch to watch the movie. This had to be Ellie's favorite Christmas yet, in all of her seventeen years.

**Author's Note**: Sorry if you feel I cheated you on the sex scene -- I'm not very good at writing them, and I didn't want to change the rating of this to M. Sorry again.


	15. Epilogue

---------------------------------------------  
**Linger**  
---------------------------------------------

**Epilogue.  
-**

"I am so proud of you, honey."

Ellie smirked as she, her mother, and her father walked away from the larger crowd of people. The seniors at St. Hilary's had just graduated, and the ceremony had been held at the small park across the street from the school. Ellie had already changed out of her graduation robes, and her father had offered to carry them for the new graduate of the family.

"Me too, actually," Ellie said. "Let's just hope my baby sister graduates the same way, right?"

Instead of answering, Mrs. Nash just lightly touched her still growing stomach, smiling. She'd announced she was pregnant some time around New Year's, and Ellie couldn't be more ecstatic -- her excitement had been doubled though when the doctors said it would be a girl. She felt kind of bad for the baby, for she was going to be put through private schools her whole life, as Ellie had been, but at least she'd have Ellie to talk her through it. And who knew? Maybe little Isobel Nash would meet her own Jay Hogart one day.

As if on cue, Ellie glanced up and saw a familiar car waiting at the curb off to their right -- an even familiar boy was leaning against it, arms crossed and eyes squinted at the light. There was a soft breeze in the air, and because he hadn't worn his hat that day, his hair caught on it, waving around his face, and getting certain glints from the sun. He'd been in the seats during her graduation, but had hung back -- letting this be a day for her and her parents.

Now Ellie glanced at her dad, who had also spotted Jay. He smirked and nodded.

"We'll see you sometime later then, I suppose," he said.

She grinned. "Can he come over for dinner?" She asked.

"Of course," Mr. Nash said. "Be back around six and we'll go to your favorite place."

Ellie gave her father a quick hug, then her mother, and with a little wave, she started off towards Jay. He straightened as she neared him, his arms falling down to his sides, and a smile coming to his face.

"You looked great in that hat, Ginger," he said.

She rolled her eyes, sliding her arms around his neck. "You _always_ know what to say, don't you?" She asked, before they kissed.

When they broke apart, he was digging into his pocket. He produced a small box, and held it out to her. "A graduation present for my lady," he said.

"Aw, you didn't have to," she said, taking it.

"Sure I did," he argued, "And I actually _paid_ for that one, can you believe it?"

She laughed as she opened it, and almost gasped at what was inside. It was a simple silver necklace, baring an even simpler trinket -- a small, solid heart. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks, Jay," she said, "I love it."

"Good," he said, jokingly. "I would've been pissed if you didn't."

She shook her head, still smiling, and reached for the passenger door. "So where we going?" She asked.

"Anywhere you want," was his swift answer, as he walked around the front of the car. "I'd be more than happy if it were a little something that started with an 'h' and ended with an 'otel', but it's up to you."

Ellie smirked, putting the necklace on before she climbed into the car -- she really did love it. It was just the right length, perfect, one could call it.

"Let's just drive," she said, "Find some cool spots to linger or something."

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't argue as he slid into the driver's seat. "Sounds about right," he said to her when he started the car.

As he pulled away from the park, Ellie gazed out at the school she'd spent a lot of her time at -- no more missing the bus, no more ugly dungeon walls when she was in the literature club meetings. She smiled as she fingered her necklace, and glanced to her left. No more St. Hilary's, but the school _had_ done one good thing (besides educating her of course), it'd caused her to meet Jay.

**Author's Note**: Alright, so this is the end. I know it got a little sappy, but hey, I'm a sucker for mushy stuff, what can I say?

Anyway, kinda sad to see this go, as I had a blast writing it. And if you got this far, thank you so much for reading (and I hope you decide to let me know what you thought of the whole thing).

I'd like to extend the biggest of big thanks to any and everybody who's reviewed the story so far -- especially those who stuck with me since the beginning. I know my updating process might've been a little rocky, but the story prevailed eventually. Thank you guys so much.

Keep the Jay/Ellie alive. :D


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